A Princess and A Dragon
by Nightside14
Summary: Princess Lucy Heartfilia is fed up with her father and the life of royalty so she finally runs away. But what happens when she encounters a strange man, or is it a creature, in the mountains? Is he dangerous? It sure doesn't seem like he wants to be friends and little does she know that their families share a dark past. A Nalu AU story hope you enjoy! Image is courtesy of arisa01
1. Chapter 1

**AN: originally this was gonna be one shot but it's beginning to evolve and will prob just be a small self contained story. Just a few chapters. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think!**

 **Fairy Tail and all its characters belong to Hiro Mashima**

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She ran and she ran as fast as she could. She wanted to get as far away from home as possible. Lucy Heartfilia, Princess of the land of Fiore, was done. Done and tired. She couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't take her father. He was always meddling in her life, always unbelievably unfair. After years of practically ignoring her, what gave him the right? And now...now he had done the worst thing yet. Now he was trying to tell her who she was going to marry. Sure she had known all the "rules" that came with being royalty but that didn't mean she ever liked them. And though she had shown otherwise her father still brought her "suitors", princes from other lands. Yuck! Well, a couple of them were pretty handsome but as soon as they opened their mouths it didn't matter in them east what they looked like.

The King had insisted she choose a suitor….no he demanded she choose a husband and if she didn't one would be chosen for her. She looked on in horror, then in private, she tried her best to reason with him. If only at the very least to put it off a couple more years. But King Jude was having none of that, no he wouldn't listen to her and so began the yelling and the threats and the lectures. Lucy couldn't take it anymore and so she ran, she ran and she ran. She was done and tired of this life. Sure it was only 18 years of it, not at all a lifetime but it felt like it at times.

Lucy ran from the castle, out of the gates, leaving the city. She knew the city like the back of her hand and the palace guardsmen didn't stand a chance. Lucy thanked god that she had spent so much time with Levy and Cana, running around the city and whatnot. Lucy smiled as she ran and silently thanked and apologized to her friends. She wasn't planning on coming back. Not anytime soon.

Before she knew it the princess had left the city behind and was running through the thick forest that lay beyond the palace. She began to slow as she heavily panted, fighting to catch her breath. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face. She slowed to a decent walking pace and looked down at her dirty and torn dress. Not very princess like. She smiled, proud of that fact. She looked up and saw the mountain in front of her and sighed heavily.

"Well, I've come this far." She said looking up at the mountain and the darkening sky. "No way I'm going back now." She says looking behind her before continuing onward.

Lucy began to think that just maybe she hadn't thought things through. No, she was still glad she left, but deciding to climb the mountain right away was probably a mistake. Considering the mountain became mountains, and in the last hour the temperature had begun dropping rather quickly and the clouds were getting darker. She huffed unhappily. Was the world turning against her and her chance for freedom? If so, there was no way in hell she was giving in. Her great escape was catching up to her though. Her feet hurt, she was starving, and...oh look it just started raining. Lucy wanted to tell out in frustration.

"I'm not going back! You can't make me!" She yelled out defiantly at the dark sky.

The sky thundered heavily and lighting lit up the mountainside as if to answer her. It was probably coincidence but it didn't stop Lucy from being a little frightened. Then as if to further the awkward moment, or whatever you wanted to call it, the heavens opened the floodgates and the rain feel hard and heavy to the earth. Lucy now soaked beyond belief began to run again. Where? She sure didn't know. There didn't seem to be shelter anywhere near her. The lightning flashed again and this time something caught her eye. Did she see that right? She stopped and looked harder through the rain. The Lightning came again and her suspicions were confirmed. A cave! Which meant shelter. She smiles brightly and took off toward her saving grace.

She finally reached the cave and got out of the rain. She was still soaked, she was cold and hungry and she was still hurting but at least she had shelter for the night. She walked in deeper, away from the mouth of the cave. There was less air so it was oh so slightly warmer. She hugged her arms to her body and rubbed herself to try and get warm. She leaned against the cave wall and slumped to the ground, her body huddled together as she shivered.

"Well well well. What do you have here?" Came a male voice from inside the cave.

Lucy gasped and looked in the direction it came from. A fire was suddenly lit and she looked in awe at the figure walking toward her, her eyes wide. It was a boy, a man? But not a man. The first thing she noticed was the fire seemed to be aflame in his hand but that wasn't the weirdest. Not this man wasn't like any other she had seen before. He had red scales that ran up his arms and legs, he had two horns on his head and, was that a tail? He had what seemed to be a long red, scaly tail though that was the hardest to make out. She stared at the half man before her as he came to a halt right in front of her.

"And who might you be?" He asked and she couldn't tell if he was mad or being playful. She looked up at him still shivering, but enjoying the little bit of heat emanating from the fire in his hand. "Oh a princess? Are you a princess?" He asked as he looked over the drenched form huddled in the ground. She gave a small nod. He growls dangerously at her answer and his nose wrinkles as if in disgust. "Sucks to be you then. Guess today just isn't your day." He smiles dangerously as his other hand lights on fire.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Lucy asks beginning to get scared.

"Well, you're a Heartfilia aren't you?" He asks, the way he says her last name with venom in his voice not lost on her. She carefully nods. And his sinister smile grows. "Well then I can send your charred remains back to daddy. What is it you humans say, eye for an eye?"


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy's heart begins to beat faster and faster as the man with pink hair, as funny as that sounded, frighteningly loomed over her. His hand on the cave wall above her as his body kept her trapped from being able to get up. He glared at her and she was forced to look away, her eyes lowering and traveling down his well toned body, his hard abs catching her...wait what was she doing? She couldn't forget that she was in very real danger here. She yelps in pain as his hand grabs a fist full of her hair and makes her look up at him.

"So before I kill you, tell me, what are you doing way out here?" he asks glaring at her again. "Not that I'm complaining. I mean now I get to drop your burnt remains on daddy's doorstep." he smiles dangerously as he tosses her to the side and stands upright. "You are Jude's daughter aren't you?"

"Yeah, so what?" Lucy says angrily, more at hearing her father's name than at anything else right now, and he noticed.

"Aww is the little princess mad at daddy?" he asks mockingly as he moves toward her. "Did you run away from home? Did daddy not get you what you wanted for your birthday? Did he cancel the big ball?" he continued with the mocking. As he reached her he grabbed her by her dress and lifted her up.

"No, stop! Let go!" she tried to fight back as he brought her up and close to him.

He let out a deep growl as she scratches him and he pins her hard against the wall. He lifted her arms up above her head and before she knew it his tail had wrapped around her wrists binding her. Lucy's eyes widened in fear as he stood merely inches from her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she fought to catch her breath. She didn't know what was going to happen. Except for the fact that he kept talking about killing her and she was not looking forward to that.

"That hurt." He growled as he kept his firm grip on the front of her soaked dress. She began to feel heat as tiny flames began to dance around his fist.

"Please don't." She says, tears beginning to form. "What do you want? Why are you doing this? Who are you?"

"Like you care. You're a Heartfilia. Just like you're father." He growled accusingly.

"I'm nothing like him!" She glares at him and he was slightly taken aback though he didn't show it. "What do you want with me?!"

"To kill you!"

"Why?!"

"Payback." he hissed. "Once I drop your dead body at the palace no one will mess with Natsu Dragneel of the dragons."

"You're a dragon?" She asked simultaneously scared out of her mind and disbelievingly and intrigued.

"But the dragon's vanished a long time ago. They told me they went extinct-"

"Oh is that what they said!" He roared and she winced, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Stop! Leave me alone!" she yelled as she began to struggle and try to fight against him. His tail tightened around her wrists and she groaned painfully. The fire grew hotter and the flames caught onto her dress. "No!" she cried defiantly.

"Maybe I won't burn you yet." he threatens as he extinguishes his flames and his claws begin to grow, ripping into the fabric of her dress. "Maybe I'll cut up that little princess body of yours, let you bleed out then I'll burn you in front of daddy's eyes!" He growls as he rips her dress off of her, her undergarments the only thing covering her.

"No, don't!" she yelled as she squirmed and kicked at him. He growled in pain as her foot connected with his leg. "He won't care! It won't matter what you do to me he's a monster!"

"Really?" Natsu scoffed at the irony. "What father doesn't care for his daughter?" He asks sliding the tip of his claw along her bare skin. "I'm sure once he sees your mauled form he-"

Natsu paused as he looked down her body and took in the sight before his eyes. Never had he seen such a si-wait, what was he doing? He couldn't get distracted. Not at a time like this, and certainly not by her. His mouth suddenly felt dry and he didn't know why. He suddenly dropped her ripped dress on the ground. Lucy didn't know why he had stopped talking but she felt his tail loosen ever so slightly. It was enough to fight free and before Natsu knew it her knee came up to meet his stomach. He grunted as her knee drove into him and she began to take off running. Two blasts of fire shot past her and hit the ground in front of her with an explosion. She yelped and fell back on the ground as the fire cut off her escape.

"And where do you think you're going?" He asked as he stalked toward her. A fiery and dangerous expression on his face.

"Please don't. Just leave me alone!" She yelled as she huddled herself together, hugging her knees to her chest.

Her current predicament was not lost on her. Here she was practically naked with a dragon boy, man, whatever, keeping her trapped here. She was completely at his mercy. She began to shiver again as a strong gust of wind traveled through the cave and thunder rumbled outside. He stopped in front of her and looked down on her. She looked up defiantly but noticed his expression had changed, if only slightly. Instead of the angry, murderous look he had given her before, now he just glared at her with what seemed to be a look of displeasure.

"Look he doesn't care okay?" She tried again, doing all she could to hold her glare while her heart pounded. "You can do whatever you want but it won't matter. I don't matter to him and he doesn't care about me so he won't care what you do to me! You think you hate him? Well I hate him more!" And just like that he had moved oh so quickly and was mere inches right in front of her face.

"Don't speak of things you know nothing about, princess." he calls her that last part with venom in his voice. "Don't pretend to know anything about what I feel."

Natsu looks off to the side and that's when she notices the scar on his neck. He turns back to her as she lets out a shaky breath and he studies her face. She tries to keep her defiant look but doesn't know which direction their conversation is headed or what he's going to do next. To her relief he simply stands and stares out the entrance of the cave.

"So everything isn't perfect in the royal family?" He asks as he continues to stare out. "Or is this princess actually a little drama queen and her perfect little life isn't perfect enough?" Natsu asks looking down at her.

"Screw you!" Lucy says angrily as she stands up and shoves him back hard with both of his hands. He looks at her caught of guard and surprised by the action. This half naked princess actually hit him, well okay shoved him. He kind of wanted to laugh. "I hate him and I'm sick of it all! I'm never going back!" She yells, his reaction to her actions completely missed by her.

"So did you run around the castle half naked like that seducing all the men?" Natsu asked dryly and with a frown.

"Eek!" She yells out as she quickly tries to cover herself with her hands, the fact that she had lost her dress forgotten. "Sh-shut up! You're the one who ripped my dress off!" She furiously blushed.

"Whatever." he said with a heavy sigh. "If what you say is true then...well maybe I can find another use for you." Lucy didn't know what he was thinking but she was sure it couldn't be good. "Either way, this storm is gonna go on for awhile so we're stuck here for now." He said walking away and lighting a fire deeper in the cave.

"So...you're not gonna kill me?" Lucy asked slowly walking closer and closer to the warmth of the fire.

"Don't know yet." He said non-chalantly as he sat down.

"I guess that's better than what you had planned earlier." She said dryly as she sat on the opposite side of the small fire. She shivered as she huddled in front of it.

"Here. It ain't much but it's something." Natsu said as he took off his vest and threw it at her.

She looked at him with surprise as she held the black vest in her hands. The vest that left little to the imagination and showcased his perfectly toned-Lucy shook her head. What was she thinking?! She looked over the fire at him. He layed down on the ground, his back to her. As she began to put on the vest he had so generously thrown at her she began to wonder what exactly she had gotten herself into.

Lucy stretched as she began to wake the next morning. The fire from the night before was practically non existent. Thankfully she had the vest to wear. She slowly sat up as she rubbed her eyes. It was still raining pretty hard, Natsu was right this was going to be along storm. Natsu. She remembered the half human, half dragon man she had encountered. Natsu her...her what? Captor? Her kidnapper? No that wasn't right. What were they. Well, they weren't really anything but things had gone from one end of the spectrum, not really to the other, but there was improvement. If you could call it that. At the very last he was second queasiness killing her so there was that.

She looked over at the still sleeping Natsu before reaching over for her ripped dress. She had put it by the fire before going to sleep last night in the hopes that it would dry. Lucy smiled to herself as she felt the dry, even slightly warm fabric. She wrapped the dress around her like a blanket enjoying the warmth that it brought. She wished she had it to use as a blanket last night but oh well. She looked over again at the draconic figure that lay sleeping just a few feet away from her. Curiosity got the best of her and she moved over to where he was. She looked him over, studying him. Now in the light she could see better. He, for all intents and purposes, looked mostly human. Sure he had horns on his head and a tail. He had scaly limbs but that was pretty much it. Her eyes followed up his scaly legs, wondering where they stopped. She couldn't tell because of his shorts but his upper body was a different story. The back of his hands all the way up to almost his shoulders were scaly until red scales turned to skin. Hey eyes wandered over his naked torso and she found her heart beating a little faster. She looked at his sleeping face and for the first time he was actually kind of handsome. She held her gaze for a moment before looking away with a blush. Lucy saw the red scaly tail lying there on the ground. She reaches out and softly grabbed it, surprised by the feel of it. It wasn't nearly as rough or cold as she thought it would be. She carefully lifted it, watching him as she did so to make sure he didn't wake. She held his tail In her hands and began to move them over it, studying it. She slid her right hand down to the tip of his tail and brushes her thumb over it. She held the end of his tail in her hand and rubbed it back and forth, intrigued by how it felt.

Natsu moaned out as she continued her studying of his tail. She was startled H the sexy sound he made. Sexy? Did he moan correctly? She repeated the action and he gasped and let out another moan. Her cheeks reddened and suddenly his tail flew out of her hands. She yelled and looked over at a glaring Natsu who was now sitting up.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked.

"Uh I was-it was-I didn't…" She stumbled through her words.

"You don't just go around touching people wherever you want." He scoffed as he began to stand.

"That's not…" She began defensively as her blush deepened and she looked away.

Natsu groaned as he stretched his arms out above his head. Lucy looked up and stared, mesmerized by his perfect body. He looked at her and realized she was staring. He huffed softly and let out a sly grin.

"Enjoying the view princess?"

"Wha-I wasn't-sh-shut up." She finally said angrily as she was snapped back to reality. She stood up and he actually noticed that his vest looked pretty good on her.. "I was thinking about something for your information." She huffed before turning around to walk away from him.

Natsu tilted his head as he watched her magnificent ass sway away from him. Whether she was aware that she had done it on purpose or not he didn't know. But princess of that crap kingdom or not he knew to enjoy a nice ass when saw one and she had the best he'd ev-what the hell? Again? Really? He snapped back to relish and went to walk up beside her at the cave entrance. He did not want to be traveling in this storm but he still had to go out. He was starving and he was sure the princess was too. Couldn't have her passing out or dying in him. Would be too much work, and a waste.

"I'll go get some food." He said matter of factly. "You gonna take off or stay?"

"Like I have a choice." She glared at him. "If I tried to run you'd probably just track me down and drag me back here."

"True." He said with a small smile and stepped out into the rain.

"Oh, your vest…" She began but he waved her off.

"I'm fine. Keep it for now." He said and then ran off into the storm.

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 **AN: so here's chapter two! Hope you liked it! Let me know your thoughts!**

 **Things started out rough for Lucy but maybe they're starting to look up?**

 **Definitely the start of some attraction, physical anyway lol.**

 **Don't think that as soon as Natsu comes back she's gonna jump his bones or anything they're not quite there yet haha**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks so much for the support and the review guys! Feel free to keep them coming and let me know what you think. What you like or maybe don't like. finally was able to get a pic up for the story and that was courtesy of arisa01 an amazing artist and honestly this story wouldn't exist without her either. You could say she's the map and I'm just the driver. Hope you guys continue to enjoy!**

 **Update: So I changed and added some stuff to the ending of this chapter. Hope you like it!**

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 _ **The Castle**_

The palace guards and knights enjoyed the warmth and dryness of the castle's inner walls. They had been out all night looking for the runaway princess but to no avail. Deciding to regroup, and dry off they ceased their hunt until the storm cleared and opted to return to the castle. Reporting to the king was not pleasant but what could be done? Their leader had incurred the wrath of the king and been sentenced to time in the dungeon for failing at something so simple. The king had cursed under his breath and muttered something about "if she were here". But it was unclear what he had meant. So now they guards and knights were resting and eating a warm meal inside the comfort of the castle walls.

Suddenly the large doors to their dining pavilion were thrown open causing the men to jump. Something which was actually quite humorous, though not for them. There was one thing they had forgotten to take into account, one person they definitely didn't want to get on the bad side of and that, they had definitely done. All the men stopped and stared what they were doing and stared at the two returning knights, particularly the one that had caused the commotion. Though young they were the best and fiercest knights in the kingdom. Well, one was definitely fiercer than the other. They were generally the ones that looked after Lucy, the ones who brought her back the few times she had ran away from when she was younger.

"What's this I hear about Princess Lucy missing?!" Erza Scarlet demanded as she walked in among the men.

"Erz-Miss Scarlet she just ran-she knew the city well-too fast-" the men stumbled through explanations and excuses trying to find some kind of saving grace.

"And why has she not been returned?! You men had one job. I leave on one mission and you lose the princess!" Erza gives them their infamous glare that leaves men shaking in her boots. Jellal leans against the door frame and smirked. He loved this.

"We took the tracking dogs out and the royal trackers but with the storm all traces were lost. Nothing could be done." One of the men spoke up and Erza turned her attentions to him.

"If the princess isn't back then neither should any of you be." Erza says with an icy tone as she unsheathed her blade. "If you leave the princess out in their storm like this, left for dead, then perhaps I should leave you for dead." The knight, much older than the 20 year old redhead, gulps loudly as she brings her blade to his neck.

"Come on Erza, their good guys-" Jellal began as he continued watching with a smirk.

"Good men would've prevented the princess from leaving the castle walls." she said pressing her blade against the knights neck.

"They're not you Erza. You would've been able to keep her from leaving the room." he says leaving his resting place and take a couple of steps forward, his hand resting on his sword.

"Flattery won't save them Jellal." She says turning to him, her eyes narrowed, wearing the scowl she wore when the men inevitably disappoint her, or something pissed her off.

"Come on, they looked for her and you saw the storm. I'm worried about her too but you know she's a strong girl." Jellal says trying to temper her though he knows she wouldn't really kill the knight. He thinks. "We should see the king, talk to him."

"H-he's not here. He left." another knight spoke up.

"What? Where?" she asked fixing her gaze on him now, making him sorry he ever said anything

"After the disrespect the princess showed he left to formally apologize the father of the boy she was to be engaged to." he answered.

"What did he say about Lucy?" Jellal asked though he didn't know why he was surprised.

"He said the brat better come back and fix the mess she had made. That one way or another she would have to fulfill her duty." Erza sighed heavily and sheathed her blade in one quick motion. She pushed the knight she had been holding back in his seat.

"Sounds like the king. More concern for the kingdom and appearances than his daughter."

"Erza." Jellal said warningly. He knew she was right and agreed with her but speaking out against the king was very dangerous.

"What were his orders?" she asked the men.

"To keep this quiet. He said once his spoiled brat of a daughter realized her error that she would come crawling back." She was told and her eyes narrowed.

"Did he now. Well then I guess we do as always and follow his commands." She said simply and sheaf Jellal left much to the relief of the others.

They walked in silence for quite awhile. Jellal following close behind her, giving her space. He knew she wasn't happy and neither was he really but there wasn't much they could do. The men were right the severity of the storm would make it impossible to track anyone and as long as it had been going on...well there really wasn't any hope. He hoped that wherever the princess was that she was safe and despite her dislike of the place he hoped she returned. He knew Erza felt the same way as well.

"She'll be okay. You know she's strong." Jellal said as they entered Erza's bedchamber. A large and lavish one it was. The best for not only the head Knight but the best knight in the kingdom.

"I knew we shouldn't have gone on that mission. The one time I'm not here." She said as she began stripping off her clothes.

"You can't think like that. We couldn't have known." Jellal said simply. "Besides the mission was important. The king couldn't depend on-"

"The King could go-" she began as she pulled her long red hair out of its ponytail.

"Erza." Jellal warned before she could finish. "You know I feel as you do about him but there's more to all this than just him."

"You gonna join me or go on about the king." A naked Erza asked as she stood at the entrance to where her bath was. "Hurry up and get naked." She demanded as she walked away.

Jellal exhaled softly with a smile and began to disrobe. It wasn't long before he joined his beautiful Erza. She stood in the large bath, the water coming up to about her belly button. She slightly turned her head back to see a naked Jellal walking up behind her. She smirked and ran her tongue over her lips.

"I'll never get over how you ended up with all this." Jellal said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed his body up against hers. She gasped softly at the contact.

"You know why I did." She said slyly and enjoyed the feeling of his lips on her shoulder blade.

Jellal's hands roamed over her body as he bit her shoulder eliciting another gasp from her. She reached back for him and pressed harder against him. He breathily moaned her name, the way that she liked and smiled. She moaned at his actions on her body. He knew everywhere to touch her. He better had after all this time and the fact that she had no problems telling him what to do to her.

"You've got your work cut out for you." She said before loaning again. "I don't wanna be able to walk tomorrow morning."

"Oh you won't." He smirked as he began to suck on her neck.

He knew she didn't want him to be loving or tender. Not now. No they had been on a hard mission, Lucy was missing and the king was being the king. Erza was stressed and frustrated, mostly frustrated and she needed to get that worked out. She needed a way to release it and get rid of it and Jellal knew how to do that. Plus he enjoyed it.

* * *

 _ **The cave**_

It felt like Natsu had been gone awhile, Lucy wasn't sure how long but it seemed long. She began to wonder if she had been abandoned. Though she didn't know why she cared or if that was even necessarily a bad thing. Especially given the way he was talking about killing her and everything, though it seemed like maybe that idea was on the back burner now. She pulled her ripped dress tighter around her as she felt a chill pass through her. She looked at the dead fire from last night.

"He could've at least lit the fire again." She muttered to herself, pouting.

At least she had his vest. His vest. She looked down at the garment she was wearing. She lowered her head and inhaled. It was a smell she had never smelt before but she found that she didn't exactly dislike. She inhaled again before lifting her head quickly and shaking it. Why was she doing that? What was she thinking? Curiosity. That's what it was. She turned her head to the cave entrance as she heard what sounded like a strong gust of wind. It was Natsu.

Natsu entered the cave soaking wet. She walked closer to him as she entered. His previously pink spiky hair matted down due to being wet, his horns more pronounced. He lifted his hand and brushes his long locks back and out of his face. She stopped as she took in the sight of his dripping wet half naked body and begin to feel a stirring within her.

"Like the view." Natsu smirked as he neared her.

Lucy's face began to turn red. "Sh-shut up! No! I was wondering what the hell took you so long. You didn't even light the fire before you left jerk!"

"Pffh whatever princess. At least I brought you food." He said holding up the three rabbits he had managed to catch.

"It's Lucy! Not princess." She frowned as he lit the fire.

"Whatever Luigi." He said without a care in the world.

"Lucy!" She groaned angrily as she sat next to the fire.

Natsu grabbed the sticks he had brought back with him and wham to prepare the rabbits for cooking. Lucy stared at the fire while he worked. She looked up a few times and noticed him glancing over. Why? What did he want? Was he thinking about eating her? Who knew. Lucy sure didn't. The two of them sat in silence as Natsu began to cook their food. She leaned up against the cave wall and thought about the events of the past couple days. She was wondering if they would find her. She was wondering if she should go back, if running away wa-no it was right. Lucy began to frown as she thought of her father and all the events that led up to her finally being fed up. She looked up at the fire and then above it to see onyx eyes staring intensely at her. After a second they looked away and so did she. What did he want?

After a bit the food was done cooking and Natsu handed Lucy a stick with a cooked rabbit on it. She softly thanked him for it and he went and sat on the other side of the fire. She began to eat the meat, which surprisingly tasted good. She looked over at him and noticed he seemed to be deep in thought, though she didn't know how deep that could be. She began to look closer at his draconic features that seemed to fascinate her. She'd heard of dragons when she was a little girl but never did she think she'd meet one, well kind of one. She snapped back to reality and noticed he was almost done eating. _Jeez, did he swallow the whole thing?_ She asked herself as she turned back to her meal.

Natsu raised his hands above his head, grabbing his elbow with one of his hands and stretching. He rolled his head, cracking his neck and let out a long yawn. He looked over at her while she ate and began to think. His thoughts soon were sidetracked when he began to really start to notice her. He slightly tilted his head as he really saw her in his vest for the first time. She had actually zipped it up and it seemed to fit her perfectly which was strange. His eyes trailed further down to where his vest ended and her soft skin began. At least he imagined her milky white skin was soft, her being a princess and all. He resumed his thoughts as he looked back up at her and noticed bright brown eyes looking back at him. Her mouth hung slightly open as if she was about to take another bite and dare he think it she actually looked kinda cu-wait, what? No, nope. What the hell was he thinking? He looked back at the fire and after a moment she resumed her meal. It wasn't seconds later when Lucy caught him looking, no that was more than a look. It was like he was studying her. Was he still hungry? Was he going to eat her? Oh he could eat her, she thought and immediately began to blush. Whoa, what was that? Her heart beat began to raise as she panicked. What the hell was that? Never had she ever had a thought-and why-no, that was too weird. She didn't even know him. She didn't even like him. Like, at all. She looked back and noticed he was still staring.

"What?!" she snapped. She couldn't take it anymore. "What's your problem dragon boy?!"

He slightly recoils caught off guard. "Dragon boy?" he asks unamused. "What just crawled up you-"

"Hey, you were the one staring at me! Whats up with that?!" she asked angrily. "I thought I was gonna catch on fire you were staring so hard."

"I was not." he said crossing his arms and turning his head with a 'humph', pouting. "And that's not even possible." _I don't think. Have to remember to try that._ He thought to himself.

"Whatever." she said turning away and taking the last bite of her meal.

"Alright, well time to go." Natsu said standing up.

"Wh-what? Go where exactly? It's still pouring like crazy out there."

"Yeah, don't worry about that. The nest is that way." he smiled pointing his thumb behind him.

"You mean you're home has been here the whole time?" she asked incredulously and then realization dawned on her as he walked toward her. "Wait, nest? No, put me down!" she squeaked as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up with ease throwing her over his shoulder. "Put me down!" she demanded as her fists hit his back.

"Calm down." he said smacking her thigh.

"Hey! Watch it dragon boy!" she warned and he only smirked.

"You're my prisoner now. No way was I gonna let you go, you could still be of use to me." he said lighting his other hand on fire as he walked deeper into the cave.

After a bit Lucy resigned to her fate as his prisoner, at least for now and he agreed to put her down finally. Though she was made to walk in front of him so she didn't try to run away or anything. They walked for what seemed like forever as they continued deeper and further down into the cave systems. Not knowing where she was going she walked slowly and Natsu guided her through the maze of caves. Lucy softly whined she looks down at her bare, dirty feet, she had lost her shoes a long time ago. It's not that she minded too much but she did hope wherever they were going she could wash up. She heard Natsu scoff and quickly turned to him.

"Whats the matter princess? Not used to walking." Natsu asked. "Probably used to being carried around on a throne, servants taking you anywhere you wanna go."

"What?! That's not at all what it's like!" She glared at him. "And stop calling me-"

"Sorry, princess us normals don't know what the rich and fluffy lifestyle is like." He said bluntly talking over her.

"-princess! Fluffy?" She asked curious about his choice of words. "I don't know what you think but being rich and royalty isn't all it's cracked up to be!"

"So says the rich princess." He says flatly.

"Hey you don't know what it's like! You don't know what it's like to be told how to live your life or what it's like to be seen as a tool!" Lucy yelled and a slightly surprised Natsu turned to look at her as she continued talking. "Don't pretend you know me or what my life is like when you've only known me a few hours dragon boy. You shouldn't talk about things you know nothing about." She said with finality.

"Wha-you-you don't know what your talking about!" He says incredulously not actually knowing what to say back which annoyed him.

"Then be all means tell me about the wonders of rich living." She smiled triumphantly knowing he couldn't.

"Wha-shut up!" He says and turns away from her lifting his head up.

Natsu yelps as he suddenly trips and falls down stumbling forward a couple feet, his fire extinguishing. Lucy smirks and laughs softly as if to say "I win". That when Lucy notices that while Natsu's fire was put out they still had light. There was a beautiful glow coming from the ceiling of the cavern that they had walked into.

"Wow." She's breathlessly as she looks up completely taken in.

She stared on with wonder as she looks above at, what she figured were some kind of fluorescent crystals, that lit up the caves and the cavern. They looked like stars in the sky and they completely captivated her. Natsu sat up and began brushing himself off and then looks over at her with an annoyed look on his face. He was about to say something to her but he noticed her staring up. His brows furrowed and he tilted his head as he studied her. His expression began to soften as he took in the sight. The glow from the cavern illuminated her, almost as if it was presenting her. The blue glow illuminated her skin, almost seemingly dancing upon it. Her long blonde hair seemed to glow and take on a life of its own and the way the light reflected off of her bright brown eyes. He had never seen a sight like it before, never seen a sight so beautiful. His eyes begin to widen and his jaw begins to drop. He cats he's himself, pulling himself from his daze, lightly shaking his head and wrinkling his nose. His brows furrowed again as he stood up.

"That's nothing." he smirked as he walked up to a still captivated Lucy and grabbed her arm pulling her with him.

His eyes moved to look back toward her, more with interest and curiosity than anything else. He didn't know what all that was about. Natsu walked them over to some kind entrance a couple hundred feet deeper into the cave system. She looked up at the ceiling once more and smiled as she was dragged away. She looked forward at him wondering why she was being pulled away from such a beautiful sight. He brought them to what seemed to be a large opening, or exit, from the cave systems, letting out to somewhere else. Natsu pulled her up next to him and let go of her finally.

"Oh. my. God." she said with side eyes and her mouth hung open in amazement at what she saw. Natsu looked over at her and smiled a big toothy grin as if to say 'see, i told you'.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here's chapter four! Hope you guys continue to like it and don't be shy about letting me know what you guys think. I like feedback and don't mind some constructive criticism. :) Also, don't get used to chapters being posted so frequently as that always won't be the case but I will do my best to update regularly.**

 **That being said there was a minor update made to Chapter 2 regarding how long ago dragons had vanished. It was changed from when Lucy was a little girl to they actually disappeared a long time ago.**

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The sight that lay in front of Lucy's eyes was beyond beautiful. Natsu smirked with pride as her big brown eyes took in the sight. An enormously large lake was surrounded by tall mountains on all sides. The water so clear and blue and the mountains so fresh and vivid looking. In the center of the lake was an island with an unbelievably large tree ascending high above it. Lucy's mouth hung slightly open as she took in the view, taking a step forward to the picturesque sight.

Lucy yelped as, faster than she could register, Natsu scooped her up in his arms bridal style. Instinctively her arms shot up and wrapped around his neck as she suddenly found the ground beneath them falling away. No, it wasn't falling, they were ascending. Lucy looked up and saw two large wings coming out from his back. She stared wide eyed as they flapped allowing the two to gain altitude as they flew.

"Wh-what-when did you get wings?!" Her voice squeaked as she contained staring on in amazement.

"What are you talking about? I've always had wings." Natsu said as if that should be apparent.

"No, you haven't!" she said matter of factly, knowing she'd remember seeing those attached to him.

"Yeah I have they just disappear when I don't need them. When I do, I can summon them." He said keeping his gaze forward.

Lucy was at a loss for words, she didn't know what to say or how to respond. Now that the initial shock was over she began to enjoy flying, to enjoy the feeling of the wind in her hair. She had never experienced anything like it. Though she wished she was dressed better, it could get pretty cold being this high up. Fortunately she had the warmth that emanated from Natsu's body. That's when she noticed how close they were, how her arms were still tightly wrapped around his neck and she had apparently unconsciously begun rubbing her thumb back and forth over his skin. She looked at him, really looked at him and noticed that he was actually kind of handsome. Her heart beat faster as she again took note of how close they were, of how his apparently very strong arms were around her. She became aware of his hand on her thigh and his other arm wrapped around her back, his hand on her just below her breasts. She looked into his onyx eyes and silently gulped. Who was he? Why-how-too many questions flooded her mind. She didn't know how or what she should feel. So much had happened since he met her. She had to remind herself that she was still his prisoner and that she didn't know what plans he had for her.

Lucy gave him a contemplative look, not that he noticed, before tearing her eyes away from him. She looked off to her left and caught sight of the now much larger island. She didn't realize they were flying so fast, or did she just not notice the passage of time? She looked on at the upcoming beach, it wasn't long before the sandy shore was beneath them and they flew overhead to the jungle that began. As they got deeper into the island, and closer to the tree in the center, she began to notice structures like houses and the like, almost seeming like a settlement. She looked on in amazement and if she thought the tree in the center of the island was big before, she couldn't believe how enormous it actually was.

A big, muscled man with long jet black hair looks up from the island and sees Natsu flying overhead with something or someone else. "Salamander…always...trouble…" He said under his breath as he snorted and continued his walk.

It's not much longer until they land in front of one of the houses. Natsu slightly bends down as he sets her down feet first. Lucy's arms stay locked around his neck as her feet touch the ground and she gets used to the ground beneath her again. She looks up at him and he finally looks her in the eyes. His wings disappeared as they looked at each other, both oblivious to the setting sun. He looks into her brown eyes, studying them, fully aware of their closeness and her arms still wrapped around him and he didn't know why he hadn't pushed her away already. Lucy realizes their position and a slight blush spreads across her cheeks. Almost simultaneously as she begins to let go of him Natsu gives her a shove back.

"Sorry." She says looking away, slightly hurt and feeling the absence of his warmth. "Thanks...for that. It was beautiful."

"Whatever." Natsu's eyes narrowed as he looked off at the setting sun.

Lucy crossed her left arm across her stomach, her hand grabbing her right arm as she hesitantly looked back at Natsu. The sight made her blush begin to return. The way the light of the setting sun adorned his tanned skin. He looked strong, stoic even, and he looked very handsome. Her breath caught in her throat but then she noticed something else. For a split second she thought she saw a hint of sadness and as quick as she noticed it, it seemed to disappear. Natsu turned back to her and she gasped softly. He noticed a lot of mixed emotions on her face but mostly he noticed that she seemed hurt, maybe even a little frightened. She should be. Why hadn't he killed her yet? She was one of _them_. A Heartfilia. He should've killed her as soon as he knew who she was and dropped her on her daddy's doorstep. Lucy took a small step back and he noticed.

"You're...welcome." He said hesitantly, his expression softening and it caught Lucy off guard. "This is my place. Go inside and stay there. I'll be back." He instructed turning away as a cool night breeze blew through the island.

"Wait, uh, you're vest." She said taking a couple steps forward and beginning to unzip it.

"No you keep…" Natsu turned around and saw that she had unzipped it halfway, exposing some of her bra covered breasts and soft skin. "...it. Keep it."

"It's okay." She said looking up at him. "If I'll be in the house then I should be warm in the-"

"Look just keep the vest okay?" He said sternly and she stopped. He softened his expression again and looked away. "Just keep it for now and stay put in the house."

"Okay." She said softly zipping it back up though she didn't know why he was so insistent on her wearing his vest.

Natsu watched as she cautiously turned around and walked into his home. Natsu sighs softly and turns around walking away into the jungle, dissapearing. Lucy leans against the door and sighs softly, her heart beating fast. She couldn't get a read on Natsu. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly as she thought about their interaction from moments ago. She was so confused and didn't know what he wanted or what he was going to do with her. Well, she had a basic idea but it was hard especially when he went from 'let me show you this awesome thing' to 'I wanna kill you'. Why did he have to be so complicated? Why did she care? Lucy puffed her cheeks out and exhaled with slight frustration. She finally opened her eyes and took in the sight of Natsu's home. It was very simple. He didn't have much of any furniture. It seemed to consist of two maybe three rooms. The room she was in seemed to be a sort of living/dining room with a small makeshift kitchen attached to it. The room mostly consisted of a table and chair in the middle of the room and a sort of resting chair off to the left. She walked to the table and lit the small lamp that rested on it. She noticed the wall were bare and the place had a very earthy, only way she thought to describe it, feel to it. It was a stark contrast to her home so big and lavish and bright and shiny. At the same time though she felt that it was very homey or could be because at the same time it felt lonely. A sad expression crossed Lucy's face as she ventured around the small house more. She walked to the back which consisted solely of the bedroom. A single bed, a small table next to it and wooden chest occupied it. She stood at the doorway and looked on. Who was he? Why did Natsu live here? Hidden. What happened to make him choose to be here alone? Maybe not totally alone, she said remembering the other structures she had seen during their flight, but it still didn't seem like it was fully functioning, normal village. And it didn't seem like Natsu did much entertaining or had many "friends" over. Lucy walked over and sat on the bed, setting the lamp down on the small table. She laid down and pulled the sheet over her for warmth. Where else was she gonna sleep?

"Who are you Natsu?" She didn't know why but she wanted to know more about her dragon boy. And she didn't know why but the smell of Natsu seemed to help her fall fast asleep.

The next morning Lucy slowly began to wake. She turned onto her back and stretched out in the bed. She looked up at the wooden ceiling as she laid there, remember the day before and where she was. She sat up and looked around the bedroom. No Natsu. Well, why would he be in the room with her? Though it was his bedroom. She pulled the sheet off of her as she got up.

"Natsu?" She called out as she walked into the front room. She crosses her arms across her chest as she realized she was alone. "Where is he?"

Did he not come home at all? Where was he? What was he doing? Was she meant to stay here all this time? Did he forget her? Lucy found herself getting angry though she didn't know why. Her thoughts were interrupted by a growling stomach. She was hungry and didn't know what to eat or where there was food. The kitchen didn't look like there was a place to store food. She looked out the window and was fascinated by the what lay by one it. She ran to it and stared out at the jungle before her, seemingly forgetting her hunger, for now. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the morning breeze as she smiled. Screw it she was going exploring.

Lucy ran to the door and swung it open with a bright smile. She ran out and raised her arm sup stretching and enjoying the warmth of the sun. She looked off to her right at the thick jungle and noticed a small path. She smirked and decided to go that way. After a while, she was still walking down the path looking at the jungle that surrounded her, enjoying the sounds coming from it. Lucy yelped as she suddenly tripped over something but she swore she heard another voice.

"You must really watch where you are going." The feminine voice said sternly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see yo-" Lucy said turning around to see a small white cat looking back at her with a grumpy expression.

"Oh my." The cat said, her eyes widening as realization dawned on her. "You're a human!"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: whoa sorry guys I did not mean for it to be this long without a new chapter. Work has been kicking my butt the last week or so, so yeah...But here's chapter five! Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Hopefully I can get chapter six up over the weekend.**

 **Oh yeah remember Arisa who provided the cover pic and is collaborating with me on this fic? Why don't you go check out her tumblr and awesome artwork? Here's the link to the colored version of the cover pic and you can get to the rest of her blog from there:** post/144109035366/colored-version-me-and-nightside14-paired-up-to

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"Yeah I'm a human." Lucy said wondering what the big deal was. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the talking cat. Talking. She didn't think anything would surprise her after this.

"My word! A human?! Here?!" The cat exclaims.

"Shhh. Yeah what's the big deal?" Lucy asks defensively.

"What are you doing here? How did you even get here? I must let the other know!"

"Nononono. Please be quiet it's okay."Lucy said trying not to calm her. "It's okay I was brou-"

"Carla!" A young female voice calls out.

Lucy turns to see a young blue haired girl emerge from the jungle. "Where did you go Carla?!"

"I'm right here child. Calm down." She says turning to the girl and that's when the girl noticed Lucy.

"Oh, who are you?" She asked surprised to see a stranger.

"I'm Lucy. It's okay I'm a friend." Lucy smiles hoping not to make a bigger scene.

"Hi Lucy, I'm Wendy." The blue haired girl smiles as she takes a couple steps toward them.

"She is an intruder. You shouldn't speak to her." Carla warns. "Worst of all...a human."

"A human, here? You're a human?" Wendy asked more in amazement than anything else. "Wow, how did you get here? Where are you from? Why did you come?"

Lucy smiled nervously as the questions spilled forth. "Uh, yeah I'm a human. Why is that such a big deal?"

"Because no human has ever been here before." Wendy says stepping closer and studying Lucy.

"No humans are allowed here." Carla adds as she looks back at Lucy.

"Where exactly is here? What is this place?"

"It's the dragon's nest, Tenrou Is-"

"Child shush." Carla interrupts. "Don't go around telling people things they don't need to know. Especially humans.".

"Hey, isn't that Natsu's vest?" Wendy asks.

"Uh, yea-" Lucy turns back to Wendy with a surprised look.

"Stay back child!" Carla exclaims. "What did you do with Natsu?!"

"Do? I didn't do anything." Lucy said defensively. "He's the one that told me to wear it. He's the one that brought me here! I didn't even know what this place wa-" Lucy began but was interrupted by a loud growl.

"Finally, found her." A gruff voice growls as

Lucy turns to see a large man with long black hair staring at her. Before she knew it the man was moving fast and headed straight for her. She yelled and took quick steps back as she realized he was attacking her. Wendy moved in front of Lucy to shield her from the man. Now she was even more scared because she didn't know what this little girl was going to do against that large man.

"Leave her alone Gajeel! She isn't doing anything." She said to the incoming form.

"Outta the way Wendy!" Gajeel says sternly as he stops in front of her much to Lucy's surprise and relief.

"No! She hasn't done anything." Wendy defends. "What do you want with her anyway?"

"To kill her." Gajeel snarls. There it was again that kill thing and Lucy cringed. "She's one of them. A human."

"Hey, what's wrong with that?!" Lucy shot back insulted that being a human seemed to be a bad thing.

"Oh just keep talking girl." Gajeel growled as he took a step forward and Wendy pushed against him.

"You can't. Natsu is the one that broughy her!" Wendy says.

"I know. Salamander's an idiot." Gajeel says his hard gaze still locked on Lucy.

"I'll fight you Gajeel." Wendy said angrily and Gajeel laughed.

"Child! Enough!" Carla scolded.

"Rogue!" Gajeel called out and a man with dark hair but not as built dropped down behind Wendy and grabbed her pulling her out of Gajeel's away.

"I don't wanna hurt you Wendy." Rogue said holding her.

"Let go Rogue!" Wendy yelled driving her heel down on his foot causing him to cry out in pain.

Lucy heard a laugh coming from her right. She looked over and saw a blonde guy sitting up in a tree, leaning back against the tree trunk. His hands were crossed behind his head as he seemed to be just watching and enjoying the "show". She had other things to worry about though. Lucy turned back to Gajeel who was mere feet away from her and she didn't know what to do. She wanted to run but she seemed frozen. She didn't know by what though. Maybe it was sheer wonderment at who these people were. Though by the horns, tails and scaly skin they seemed to adorn she could probably guess. Suddenly a strong blast of wind hits Gajeel and stops him, pushing him a bit. He turns and sees Wendy.

"You had one job Rogue." He scolds.

"Hey she's tougher than she looks." He says and hears laughing again. "You could help you know, Sting." Rogue turns to the man in the tree and glares at him.

"And stop all the fun?" Something interesting is finally happening around here." Sting grins. He gets up and jumps down from the high branch he was on. "So this is a human."

"What? Never seen one before?" Lucy asked placing a hand on her hip.

"Nope." He smiles walking up to her.

"That's because they're not allowed here." Gajeel growls and she turns to see him glaring at her.

Gajeel looks skyward as dragons descend upon the group. They land surrounding the young ones, with a heavy thud. They growl and roar as they catch sight of Lucy. A couple of them advance toward her in a predatory fashion, making her back up against a tree, cornering her. She stared at them wide-eyes. These weren't like Natsu and the others she had met. These were full on, real dragons. There was nothing human esque about them. She kept still and looked at them as they studied her, low growls emanating from them.

"A human." The red dragon in front of Lucy growled with a deep voice. "Here? She shouldn't be here."

"Let's kill her and eat her." The dark brown one next to him snarled as he smacked his lips together.

Lucy's heart pounded in her chest and she began to shake with fear. There were too many. There were real dragons here. They could roar at her and she would probably disintegrate. She began to slouch but if she shrunk back anymore she's start to merge with the tree against her back.

"Don't be hasty." A female voice spoke up. "Perhaps there is a reason she's here.

"Yeah to invade our land." One of the dragons turned to the white dragon that had landed next to Lucy.

"Humans have never been our allies." The red dragons growled. "If she's here it can't be good."

"And you know this for a fact?" She asked stepping toward them. "It's been a long time since we've dealt with the humans. Maybe they've changed."

"The nature of animals don't change. They're barbaric and hateful." Another dragon challenged. "Always fighting each other, always so selfish."

"We weren't so different at one time." The white dragon responded. "Remember Acnologia?"

"We've been fine without humans so far. We don't need them now either." Rogue said crossing his arms, getting back to the main issue.

"I don't know, I think it'd be interesting having a human around." Sting shrugged.

"Yeah, you would."

"And what's that supposed to mean Rogue?"

"We should kill her. Don't forget what happened." Another dragon spoke up. "Nothing good happens when we deal with humans."

"And I'm saying maybe we can change that." Wendy looks up at the white dragon and smiles. "History doesn't have to repeat itself. We can teach her, show her."

"Grandeeney." Wendy says softly, small tears forming in her eyes.

"Grandeeney is right. Maybe things can change." Yet another dragon spoke up.

"No, they can't!"

Lucy watched on, not sure is she was terrified or amazed, probably a little of both, as the dragons argued amongst themselves about the fate of their….what was she? Prisoner? Prey? Well, the fate of that didn't sit well with her. Lucy would be the one to decide her fate.

"I've had enough." Gajeel announced. "Pantherlily!"

"Sorry." she hears in a soft whisper as suddenly, strong, but furry hands grip her shoulders from behind.

Lucy turns just to see a tall cat-man holding her in place. She looks forward again and sees Gajeel headed for her, ready for attack. Lucy begins to squirm and fight back, crying out for help but to no avail. As Gajeel closes in on her he's suddenly stopped by a stream of fire blasts striking the ground between him and Lucy. They look up and see Natsu descending down upon the group. Next to him was a flying blue-was that a cat?! Lucy didn't know why anything surprised her at this point. Natsu and his feline friend landed between Gajeel and Lucy. Natsu turned his head to look back at Lucy. As she caught sight of his glare, she flinched and then turned her head and looked down at the ground.

"Pantherlily let go of her...now." Natsu orders and the cat-man obeys.

"You better have a damn good explanation Salamander." Gajeel demands.

Natsu's head snaps forward and he stares down Gajeel. "I don't have to explain myself to anyone Gajeel." He says with venom in his voice. "Happy, take Lucy home."

"Aye sir!" The blue cat says before grabbing her and flying away with the blonde, much to her dismay.

"You brought her Dragneel?" Rogue asks.

"He did indeed." Carla confirms.

"Why? What were you thinking? What's the meaning of this?"overlapping shouts of protests came from some of the dragons.

"Do you know what they did? Have you forgotten about-what would Igneel say?" Natsu growled lowly and rolled his eyes as all the questions flooded together.

"I think she should stay." Grandeeney announced over the noise.

"Me too!" Wendy said with a smile and some others agreed.

Natsu closed his eyes as listened to the uproar that those statements ignited. Once again the group was debating, very puddly, about what should be done with their human visitor. Natsu's brow furrowed as he listened to the noise, some here're mixed in were reasons for letting her stay as reasons for killing her. Natsu opened his eyes, a scowl plastered across his face. It seemed like lately all he was doing was scowling or glaring.

"Enough!" Natsu roared and the group silenced, their attention turned to him. "This isn't up for debate. She's my prisoner. Lucy is staying here. No one touches her." He looks at Gajeel as he says that last part.

Lucy and the blue cat, Happy, as Natsu had called him, flew in silence since they had left. She hadn't wandered far so the flight was turning out to be rather short. She was a bit surprised because she thought she had walked a lot further. Of course they were flying so there was that to consider. She thought about everything that had just happened, everything the dragons were saying. What did they mean? What were they talking about? Why did they hate humans so much? She was snapped out of her thoughts as her feet hit the ground and she felt the cat let go of her clothes.

"Sorry." Lucy said lowly as she turned around to face Happy.

"Huh?" Haply asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"For the trouble I caused. For putting Natsu in that situation. I should've listened, I'm so stubborn sometimes." She said, slight pain in her voice.

Happy said nothing as he flew away though his expression said that he understood what she was saying. Lucy held her arm and watched as he flew away.

"She's kinda weird." Happy says to himself with a smile as he flew away.

-A Far Away Kingdom-

After its long journey the lavish carriage came to a stop in front of the castle. A guard got down from the front and walked around to open the door. King Jude Heartfilia stepped out and looked at the enormous castle. It was much bigger than his and had darker colors to it. He looked at the magnificent and glorious and enormous castle that he had only been to a couple of times and that few had ever stepped inside. Two knights approached as the king walked away from his carriage. Greetings were exchanged as King Jude was told that the King of this castle was eagerly waiting his arrival. So they began their journey inside.

The two Knights led Jude and his guard through the maze that was the castle. It was still completely unfamiliar to him. The walked in silence and King Jude once again took in all the castle had to offer. Eventually they came to two large double doors. Now these he knew led to the throne room. The doors opened and the party of four walked in. There he was. Jude saw him immediately, sitting there on his throne, waiting. A warm smile on his face. The King sat there in his favorite dark robe trimmed with white flames. His long, wavy black hair was tied up in a ponytail, messy bangs barely obscuring dark eyes. It still surprised Jude how young in appearance he was despite being a bit older than he looked. The King leaned forward, a smirk on his far as Jude approached and knelt before him, bowing his head.

"My sincerest apologies on the delay of the wedding and the trouble my daughter has caused." Jude said and began to look up. "This will be rectified. I ask for your patience and forgiveness in this matter, Mard Greer."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: OMG finally! Sorry again guys! A mixture of work and me feeling meh. Hopefully I can get these out a tad faster. Hope you enjoy and as always let us know what you think!**

 **WARNING! This chapter does contain FT spoilers so if you're not caught up with the anime, specifically the Tartarous arc, be warned.**

 **Now go forth and read xD**

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 **The Dark Castle**

Erza and Jellal looked at the castle before them, her eyes narrowed as she studied it yet another time. They walked up the steps to the large dark doors and entered the gigantic castle. Erza sighed heavily as they began to asking the dark halls and her eyes roamed them, staying on alert. Jellal walked next to her, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He knew he wouldn't need it but it was a habit. Since they were two of the best knights in Jude's kingdom they essentially got most, if not all of the dangerous assignments so they quickly learned to always be weapon ready. Erza sighed lowly as they rounded another dark corner and contained their journey. She didn't know why but this place made her nauseous. Jellal's hand tightened around the hilt of his weapon as he looked around some more. That's when he noticed what she had a while ago. The dimly lit halls of the castle's interior were bare. No paintings, not tapestries, not even pictures of past kings. The Heartfilia castle was decorated and adorned. The halls carried portraits of all the kings of old and their families, all of Jude's predecessor's. Here? Nothing.

Erza and Jellal rounded another corner, almost at their destination now. The throne room. And that's when they saw a portrait at the end of the corridor. One single portrait of a man who was most definitely not Mard Geer. The couple walked York the picture and studied it. It was of a rather young looking man with black hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a high collared black and tan robe with gold trike and a white toga draped around him. A silver necklace hung around his neck.

"Lucy wasn't kidding about this place. Only the one picture." Jellal observed. "She said King Geer wouldn't say anything about it."

"Tsk. I don't like any of this." Erza said matter of factly.

It wasn't long before they heard the doors to the throne room open and the two Knights watched as Kings Jude Heartfilia and Mard Geer exited walking side by side. They walked at a leisurely pace, accompanied by Mard Geer's servants and a couple of his knights. Erza frowned as she watched the two Kings. Her gaze fixed on Mard Geer. The two knights took a step forward as the kings neared.

"-all be fine." they heard King Geer say. "Don't worry Jude, I'm sure she'll be back and ready to get on with the wedding." he seemed to smile warmly as the two faced each other and shook hands.

"Thank you King Geer. I do hope all goes as you say."

"Everything will be fine. You have a wonderful daughter with a sense of adventure. I like that." I'm sure all will be fine." He says and then turns to Erza and Jellal. "Knights."

"King Geer. A pleasure." Erza acknowledges and both knights bow politely.

"Tempester, Kyoka, please escort the King and his Knights back to his carriage.

A muscular, dark skinned man with long hair and a woman with green hair and a well endowed figure stepped forward. The woman, Kyoka, looked at Erza and smirked sadistically. The small group left King Geer and began to walk the halls once again to leave. Erza and Jellal walked in front with King Jude behind them and finally Mards Knights behind him.

Erza turned to take one last look at Mard Geer before turning forward once again, a look of contemplation on her face. Jellal smirked slightly knowing that only a very few men can get under her skin. Mard Geer was one of them and he almost swore he saw a slight shiver course through her.

"Don't trust him?" Jellal asked quietly as the continued down the halls.

"You know he creeps me out." she says as they continue their private conversation.

"I don't blame Lucy for running away."

"Neither do I. Something just seems off about him." Jellal said thoughtfully.

"I just wish she wouldn't have left. I can't protect her like this." Erza sighs with concern. "I could've taken care of Mard, she could've trusted me. Instead she jus-"

"Erza you know it was nothing personal. Lucy has never been one to stay put and has never been one to do something she didn't want to." Jellal told her as they got outside of the castle.

"I know. But I still worry about her."

"You wouldn't be her 'big sister' if you didn't." Jellal smiled referring to the two girls relationship. "I'm worried about her too Erza."

"Have a safe journey." Kyoka told them as they approached Jude's carriage.

King Jude thanked them and Erza and Jellal nodded. Erza caught sight of the man, Tempester, who seemed not to care or even be paying attention to the situation. He gave a polite nod and proceeded to look at their surroundings.

"Erza, Jellal, with me." Jude said getting into his carriage.

Both of Mard's Knights watched as the three of them entered the carriage and then departed the castle. Kyoka's smirk never leaving as she thought of the red headed knight of fame. Erza turned from looking at her and the dark castle and looked at her King. Her King who seemed to be rather upset and seems to be directing that anger with her.

"Has there been any progress Titania?" He asked her.

We weren't there long. We came as soon as you summoned us but no. So far they still haven't found her." She reported. "I'm sorry s-"

"That's unacceptable. It's been days!" He said angrily. "Get your best men Erza and find her. If it takes you any longer than it should I'll have your head."

Jellal frowns as he looks over at their King and then at his beloved Erza. She was surprised by the threat but did a good job of hiding it. Never had the King threatened her life, or anyone's. Ever since his wife's death sure he had changed and taken on a cold demeanor but he hadn't threatened anyone's life like this before, at least not a loyal subjects.

"Yes my King. I'll find her you have my word." She says.

 **Tenrou Island**

She knew she really shouldn't but she couldn't take it anymore. It had been hours and Natsu still hadn't shown back up or anyone else for that matter. Not that she really wanted to, except maybe for Wendy. She seemed nice. Lucy sighed as she looked out the window for at least the hundredth time. She frowned as she puffed out her cheeks. That was it she was going back out, to look for Natsu, or at the very least to get something to eat. She walked over to the door and swing it open. The island seemingly staring back at her. She took a deep breath and exhaled. She left the safety, she hoped, of Natsu's home and walked into the jungle for the second time that day.

"I really hope this doesn't turn out like last time." She says to herself.

As she walks in the jungle she begins to look around again, take its beauty and wonder and mystery. It was an island after all that no one knew about. No human knew of the dragons nest. Well until now anyway. She wondered what secrets the island held and thought of the adventures she could have. Lucy breathed in a breathe of fresh air and smiled. After walking for a bit She ended up crossing paths with the young girl, Wendy, that she had met before.

"Oh hi Lucy." Wendy says running up to her with a smile.

"Uh, hi." She smiles back and can't help think how adorable the little dragon girl was. "Sorry for the trouble I caused earlier."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it." Wendy assures her. "You shouldn't have any problems with anyone here. You're under Natsu and Grandeeneys protection. And mine."

"Lotta good that'll do her." A gruff voice said and they turned to see Gajeel walking up to them. "Don't just be all nicey-nice to the human because you got your way. Don't forget what happened last time."

"It's not the same Gajeel. Lucy's not like that." She said defensively.

"Don't get confused. All humans are the same, they're not our friends." He glared at Wendy, encroaching in on her space.

"Hey, leave her alone you big jerk!" Lucy said angrily and Gajeel snapped his head, turning his attention to her. "Don't talk to her like that!"

"What was that blondie?" He asked dangerously. "I don't see Salamander anywhere around here. Don't think I'll just listen to him out of blind loyalty." He said taking a step toward her.

"I don't need him I can take care of myself." Lucy said crossing her arms under her chest.

"You? A little girl against a dragon?" Gajeel smirked. "Not that I need them but I have friends. What about you?"

"I don't care I'll fight you all." She huffed matter of factly, though she was actually afraid of this turning into some kind of actual fight. Gajeel looked at her, caught by surprise.

"Hahahahaha." Gajeel laughed. "You don't flinch do you bunny girl? I'll give ya that much."

"Bunny girl?" Lucy mumbled both confused and caught off guard by his change in demeanor. She turns back to Wendy. "Anyway do you know where Natsu is?"

"No sorry." Wendy apologized. "But I saw Happy over that way. He'll probably know."

"Oh, thanks." Lucy smiled and then took off in the direction Wendy pointed her in, leaving the young girl and a still laughing Gajeel.

Lucy walked off away from them continuing her exploration while looking for Happy. Just how big was this island? It seemed huge but then again she didn't know it. After walking for a bit she heard the sound of a waterfall. She came to a waterfall and looked on with a small. She followed the water with her eyes and saw Happy by the river.

"Come on fishies!" She heard him yell at the water.

"Happy!" She called out to him as she broke into a run.

"Huh?" He said turning and looking at the human girl. "Oh hey Lucy. You out exploring?"

"Yeah something like that." She said as she reached him and he turned back to the fishing rod in his paws.

"How do you like the island?"

"It's pretty big but really beautiful." She said brushing some strands of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah it's not thaaat big." Happy said. "Glad you're having fun though."

"Yeah...so uh do you know he here Natsu is?"

"Oh, he's probably at that place. He goes there when he gets mad and stuff." Happy days still focused on his fishing.

"Oh? What place?" She asks her curiosity fully peaked.

"That's nothing a human needs to know." Happy says nonchalantly. "Come on you stupid fishies, bite! I'm hungry!"

"Whatever." She mumbles and gets up to leave the blue cat to his own devices.

Lucy decided to follow the path of the river through the island. She playfully kicked some of the rocks as she walked along the water line. As she got further away from Happy she began to see some of the other dragons. Either roaming about, or resting by the peaceful river. She smiled at someone them but got mixed responses from the different dragons. Mostly though she got a lot of mean looks. They were obviously unhappy with her presence. Others maybe just didn't care as they gave her blank or curious expressions. Eventually she decided the attention was too much and confusing. Lucy wandered away from the river and entered the island's jungle once again. It is sent long before she found herself completely and utterly lost. She groaned in frustration. Not only had she not found Natsu but she had gotten lost and she was starving. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten. She looked around to see if she could see or hear anyone. Nothing. Lucy frowned and puffed her cheeks out.

"Hello?! Anyone?!" She called out looking around and walking slowly. "Is there anyo-"

Lucy cut her sentence short as she caught sight of what looked like a cave entrance but something seemed different about it. Her curiosity always getting the better of her, she approached the entrance. She took a look inside and noticed that the cave seems to lead underground. _Weird_. Lucy thought to herself. She decided to explore the cave and see where it led. After a bit she had traveled a decent distance and pretty far underground, at least that's what it seemed like. What was this place? What could possibly be in here? Just when Lucy was about to give up she saw that the cave turned and she decided to round the corner. What she saw next absolutely took her breath away, an occurrence that seemed to be becoming part of her everyday life.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Soooorrrrryyyyy! But finally here's chapter 7. Let us know what you think and how you like the story so far. Especially if you haven't yet. Planning to try and get the next chapter up quicker but just been swamped with work and life haha**

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Lucy stared wide eyed into the large clearing that she had discovered. In the center lie a small structure. Three steps, flanked by four small, square pillars, led up to a pair of vertically carved flat stones. Two small parts jutted upwards from the stones, a circular hole was made by a semicircle cut into either stone. In the center of the circle was a green lot energy orb that bathed the cave in its hue. She took a few steps closer and realized the orb was slowly emanating pulses. She stops as she hears the echoes of a voice. She turns slightly and sees Natsu but he doesn't notice her. She notices him Gavin the orb, she thought he was as staring at it but then noticed his head was lowered. She began to slowly make her way toward him.

"...know what to do Igneel." She heard him say. "I'm lost. I need your guidance. I don't know if I can be what you wanted me to." He looked off to the side, away from Lucy thankfully as she continued her approach. "I hate them...I can never forgive what they did…" he stops and turns to look at her.

Lucy squeeze as he turns sharply and looks at her with surprise. She had gotten within a few feet of him. How did that happen? How did he not sense her before this? She was about to say something but didn't due to the expression in his face. She couldn't tell what it was.

Betrayal. Igneel was our protector. He thought to himself. Should've killed the human. Her. She's the same as the others. So why…

"N-Natsu." She said softly yet afraid of the way he was looking at her. It was the dark look of hate that he wore the first time they had met.

"What…" He growled as he moved slowly toward her and she took a few steps back. "...are you doing here?"

"I-"

"You shouldn't be here. Why are you here? How did you find this place?" He said still stalking toward her but she stopped moving, she planted her feet and she didn't know why. "What are you doing here?! Are you spying on me?!"

"Wha-no I-" she stuttered in a small voice but then remembered why she was there. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and looking right at him. "Sorry." She said softly, an honest but afraid expression in her face. "I'm sorry Natsu." She said again, balling her fists up and he thought he heard a small quiver in her voice. He gasped ever so softly when she said his name and he looked at her wide-eyed, shocked at her changing demeanor. "I came out to look for you but then I got lost and I found this cave and well I've always been curious by nature so I just walked in to see where it went and then…" She trailed off and began to say what she really wanted to. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for causing you trouble with the other dragons and I wanted to say thank you for standing up for me and protecting me." She says looking up at him, a dark expression still on his face. He looks into her eyes and searches them for any trace of a lie, looking for any hint of deception from her facial expression or body language.

"Huh, you are a good little princess then." He begins, his demeanor slowly changing. "Didn't expect a goody like you to stand up to someone like me." He smirks. "I'm impressed Luigi. Didn't think you had the balls-"

"It's Lucy!" She corrects and then her face gets red at the following comment. "I'm a girl! I don't have-"

"Yeah I know you have other fun stuff."

"Eek! Sh-shut up!" She says her face completely red now. "Watch your mouth dragon boy! I'm a lady!"

"A lady wouldn't be walking around half naked." He says nonchalantly. "Or stripping out of her dress the first time she meets a hot dragon boy."

"That was you! I didn't strip nothing off percent!" She yells angrily remembering her dress. "I actually liked that dress!"

"Ever the princess." He says rolling his eyes. "I'm sorry we can't pamper you and give you rich clothes-"

"Hey I'm not that kind of princess jerk! I don't need all that stuff!"

"-get your feet washed, your hair done..." Natsu continued on his thoughts of Lucy being a princess. "...You probably get your butt wiped for you, get fed all you have to do his open your mouth and people feed yo-hey that's not fair!"

"Wha-?! Your crazy! That's not what happens!" She yells at his absurd thoughts.

"I wanna be fed like that! Not have to work for it! Aw man you have all the luck! So not fair!" he lifts his arms under and crosses his hands behind his head looking lazy but annoyed by what he thinks Lucy's royal life is like.

"I told you that's not what it's like! I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself thank you. Where do you get these crazy ideas from anyway?!" She glares at him and he stares back a bit annoyed

Natsu opens his mouth to say something but gets interrupted by Lucy's stomach growling. She squeaks and looks down at her stomach embarrass, a small blush on her face. It growls again and she clutches her stomach.

"Pfft'' he says and she could hear small chuckles from him. Lucy looks up at him angrily and still embarrassed. She tries to say something but is interrupted by her stomach growling even harder. Lucy growls as Natus losses it and begins laughing loudly and pointing a finger at her.

"Sh-shut up!"

"You're so weird Lucy." He laughs, not remembering the last time he had done so, and wipes tears from his eyes. Her expression softens slightly as she sees him smile brightly. "Come on, I'll get you some food." He says with a smile as he begins to walk out of the cave, her following behind him.

"Yo, Happy!" He whistles for his companion.

"Hey, Natsu!" Happy flies down toward Natsu and Lucy. "Oh Lucy found you."

"Yeah she did." Natsu smiles. "Listen u want you to take her back to the house and I'm gonna go get us some grub okay?"

"Aye sir!" Happy says.

"See ya later." Natsu a says as he walks away with a goofy grin on his face.

Happy watches him as he picks up Lucy and they begin to fly away and back toward the house that she was beginning to get familiar with. Lucy held her stomach feeling the hunger eat away at her. That was ironic. She looks around and enjoys the cool breeze. This wasn't bad but flying with Happy and flying with Natsu were two completely different experiences. Flying with Happy was just that, flying. But flying with Natsu was soaring, it was warmth, it was life itself. Lucy began to blush as she thought about it but was shaken from her thoughts.

"It's been awhile since I've seen Natsu that happy." The blue cat tells her as they descend for the landing.

"Oh really?" She asks as her feet touch the ground in front of Natsu's home.

"Yeah, I heard his laughing from inside the cave, guess it's cause of you." He says landing in front of her and then pointing up at her. "Just as I thought, you really are weird aren't you Lushie? Aye."

"Hey I'm not weird you stupid cat! When have I ever done anything weird?!" She begins.

"You're pretty heavy too." He comments.

"What?!"

"Aye, never mind that." He says flying up to eye level with her. "But seriously, thanks for making Natsu smile." He says and then flies away.

She watches him fly away and then began to walk into the house thinking about what Happy had said. "Does Natsu not smile?" She asked herself softly. The thought making her said, making her want to know why.

 **The Dark Castle**

Mard Geer walked deep within the walls of his castle. The echoes of his footsteps could be heard through the empty halls. He rounds the corner where up ahead lie two guards standing on either side of a heavy wooden door. One of the guard moves and begins unlocking the dark doors. They are pulled open as Mard Geer approaches and enters the room. He pauses and takes in the sight of the old room. Old books lie on bookshelves, tables set up with various instruments and chemicals and glass jars. Really it looked like some kind of laboratory, albeit an old one but a lab all the same. Mard Geer walked toward the center of the room where a pedestal stood and on it an old book. He dusts off the book and lifts it in his hands.

"Soon enough." He whispers as he places a hand on the cover.

 **Tenrou Island**

"Good catch Natsu." Happy mumbled as he munched on a fish.

"Yeah this delicious!" Natsu smiled. "Right Luce?"

"Y-yeah. It's good. Thanks Natsu." She smiles at him before eating once again.

Unbeknownst to Lucy and Happy Natsu pauses for a moment and raises his hand to the scar on his neck. He winces from the drug of it and places his hand on it. At the same time deep in the caves of the island the green orb begins pulsing harder and brighter.

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 **AN: so yeah the location of the orb is basically Mavis's grave site in the anime so in case that was hard to picture we thought we'd tag this little note on at the end so you have a clear view of where Lucy was and what she was looking at in the beginning of this chapter**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: IM SO SORRY GUYS! Between working three jobs and feeling kinda meh time just flew by but I finally finished chapter 8. Hope you guys enjoy and please let us know what you guys think of the story! Thanks so much!**

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Lucy slowly opened her eyes the next morning and a slight shiver ran through her body. She yawned as she slowly tried to uncurl herself from the ball she had slept in. The night before, Natsu had kindly enough put some blankets and sheets down in the floor for her but that didn't really protect her from the cool breeze that moved through the island. She wrapped the sheets tightly around her to try and get some warmth as she slowly sat up. She smiled as she thought to the night before, eating dinner with Natsu and Happy and as she thought of what she saw in that cave. She had decided. She wanted to learn more about Natsu and the dragons. Yeah she knew some things, remembering some of the things her mother told her about dragons when she was little. She knew dragons were powerful and had strong magic. She knew that there was a time when they coexisted peacefully with humans but after awhile they had suddenly vanished. She never knew how or why, just that they were no more. And that was all she knew. She didn't know anything about them, about who they were or their customs. She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Lucy thought back to when she was younger and would ask people in other countries about dragons, how they always said they were violent and dangerous creatures. It was the complete opposite of what her mother had told her so she would always get mad. They were saying her mom was a liar and no way was that true. And now that she had seen and actually met dragons she wondered. They were intimidating and a proud species sure but she didn't see them as dangerous or violent. They even had a graciousness to them.

"Gracious...right." Lucy thinks to herself as she looks over at Natsu sprawled out on his bed in an almost inhuman way. His mouth hung open with a bit of drool coming out the side. Natsu was anything but gracious. Proud sure but the way he looked right now was the opposite of gracious. Lucy had to stifle a giggle as she looked at him. She slowly stood up and made her way over to the side of his bed. She was careful not to wake up and as she neared him she couldn't help but look at him. Her eyes roamed his body and settled on his face. As she watched she realized that he actually looked kind of cute, almost like a sleeping innocent baby. She smiles softly and has the sudden need, the want, to protect him. To protect him from the world, protect him from danger, from others and from himself, to be there for him….Lucy shook her head. What was she thinking? She discards the thought and pushes them away. Maybe Natsu was right. Maybe she was weird.

Her eyes begin to slowly roam down his body again, this time seemingly studying him more. She looks down as sees his chest rising and falling. Her eyes continue down his toned body. Her mouth went dry as she studied his rough skin, toned abs and six pack. They continued down to where his shorts hung low on his hips and she had to remind herself to breathe. She set her eyes on his tail and she slightly tilts her head to the side as she sees the tip sway a bit from side to side. It reminded her of a cat's tail. She chuckled softly as she remembered the first time she touched it. She wanted to do it again. She began to slowly get on the bed, looking over at Natsu to make sure she didn't wake him. She moved a bit closer and turned back to his tail. She leaned forward a bit and brought her hand over to it. She softly ran her fingers along it as it continued to move. It seemed to give a small response to her touch but it didn't wake its owner. She ran her fingers up to the tip feeling the scaliness. She wrapped her soft hand around it and moved her thumb over the tip of it. She heard Natsu moan softly and smiled softly. She liked the feel of it was mesmerized by his tail. She did it again and the tail moved some more. She kept her hand wrapped around it and slid it down not knowing why she liked the feel.

"What are you doing?" Came his voice in a part groan part moan.

"Eek" Lucy quickly stopped her action and sat up in her knees looking over at her dragon boy. "N-Natsu I...sorry." She lowered her head away from his narrowed eyes. She yelled as his tail wrapped around her wrists binding them together and he quickly pulled her down onto her back on the bed. Her eyes widened not knowing what was going on or what was going to happen.

"Don't you know to never wake a sleeping dragon?" He asks dangerously, sitting up and looking down at her. She breathes heavily as he looks over her and he stares at her. He sighs softly and looks off to the side. "Well I'm up now. You hungry?" He asks as his tail lets go of her wrists, something which, to her surprise and curiosity, she instantly misses. He gets up off the bed and looks back at her. "Well, come on."

"R-right. Yeah. Breakfast sounds great." She smiles at him as she begins to get up and he quickly turns away.

Natsu and Lucy quietly ate at the table, neither really knowing what to say to the other. Lucy though of the events of the morning and she definitely didn't want to talk about that. But what had happened….she was having mixed emotions. She wasn't sure what to make of it. Her heart pounded faster as she thought of Natsu's body, of it looming over her and she looked down at her wrists where his tail was snaked around it. She felt warm and a soft blush began to appear. She unintentionally slammed her fork down making Natsu look up questioningly at her.

"S-sorry. Thanks for the meal." She said looking at him for a second before averting her eyes. "I'm gonna go for a walk."

"A walk?" He asked as she stood up. "You're my prisoner. You can just leave and go for a walk." He said more as a formality than anything else. Lucy ripped her eyes at him.

"Where am I gonna go? There's no way I can escape don't worry." She said as she turned around and walked out the door.

"Natsuuuu!" Happy called flying in as Lucy walked out.

"Hey buddy. Have fun at Wendy and Carla's?" He smiled as he patted the cat on his head.

"Aye!"

"Good." Natsu said getting up. "I'm gonna go on patrol. Do me a favor and keep an eye on Lucy, yeah? Don't want her getting in trouble."

"Aye sir! Who knows what she'll get into to." Happy smiles as he gets up and flies out.

Lucy hadn't gotten far so it was easy for him to find her. She was just walking once more along a trail she had found. He flew above her and slightly behind. He tried to maneuver as she looked around trying not to be spotted but he eventually was. Happy made a comment about being spotted and Lucy told him she had seen the moment he flew over her. He sighed defeatedly and eventually just walked along with Lucy at her behest.

 **Heartfilia Castle**

The king and his escort arrived at the castle midday. He exited his carriage and walked into the castle not saying a word to anyone. Erza and Jellal walked behind him until they reached his chambers. He waved them off before entering and shutting the doors behind him. They both bowed as he entered and the doors closed. Erza turned and looked at Jellal.

"I still don't like Mard. Something feels off about him." She says with a serious look on her face.

"Our hands are tied though. We have our orders." He says as they begin walking the halls of the castle. "Unless we commit treason."

"Quiet Jellal!" She berated him in a hushed voice. "We will do no such thing...for now. Our priority is Lucy."

"So we get a team of only people we can trust to go out and look for her. Someone who's loyalty is absolute." Jellal says.

"Agreed. We need to start preparations immediately."

 **Tenrou Island**

"Carla!" Happy exclaimed as he and Lucy caught sight of them.

"Behave yourself Happy." Carla says as he flies to her and Wendy. Wendy smiles and laughs softly as she pets Happy on the head.

"Hey, Lucy. out for another walk?" she asks as Lucy walks up and smiles at the girl.

"Yeah, I still have a lot to explore and that I wanna see. It's a beautiful island." Lucy says as she sits next to Wendy on a fallen tree.

"I'm glad you like it here." Wendy smiled. "How is it at Natsu's? He's actually pretty nice. You just have to get to know him and everything."

"It's fine. It's actually kind of a cute place." lucy says making wendy laugh softly. She never associated the word cute with Natsu before. "But it does get kinda cold."

"Yeah, it can get chilly. Natsu never really feels it though. Fire dragon and all." Wendy informs her. "Tell him that next time and I'm sure he'll make sure to keep you warm." Lucy's face begins to redden slightly as she thought of being in Natsu's bed. As she thought of his strong arms wrapped around her and her body pressed up against his. "Uh, Lucy?" Wendy asks pulling her from her thoughts. "You okay?"

"Wh-what?! Oh I'm fine. I'm fine, sorry I uh...I'm fine Wendy."

"Tch. You're lucky Salamander has kept your bones intact." the girls turn to the source of the voice and see Gajeel. "And you owe him at least twice over for what he's done for you."

"What?" Lucy asks as he stalks toward her.

"Not only did he defend you against us, but he gave you his coat." he says pointing at Natsu's vest and then sees the confused look on her face. He sighs heavily. "His vest covers up your human scent. The rest of don't know it really since we didn't smell you or haven't been with you long enough to know it before you wore it. It's near impossible for the rest of us to smell you out when Salamander's scent is covering your own." Lucy looks down at the vest she was wearing and her slight blush begins to return.

"Which begs the question: Why?" Sting smiles jumping down from a nearby tree branch. The other turn to look up at him as he studies Lucy while walking closer. "I mean humans are such fragile and violent people, so why keep one here? Especially since you are the ones that drove us to near extinction during that war centuries ago ."

"What?" Lucy whispered quietly in shock. Her mind racing. She thinks back, a war that happened centuries ago..yes she knew they had a massive war centuries ago and they won but never was she told who it was against. It always confused her, in her country it was a taboo to talk about the war after all and the books had vague description. Who would they fight against and why hide it all? Then her mind clicks..it was against... "Dragons...The humans fought against the dragons all those centuries ago and they won." she mumbled stunned by the new information. "Why didn't they tell me?"

"Of course they're not gonna tell you?" Sting said annoyed. "They'll only pass on their version. They'll only tell the pretty moments and let the truth get lost to time. If you wanna know a little secret about the war…" Sting said mischievously as he leaned close to her ear, making Lucy blush. "The dragons extinction was caused by the Heartfilia's, your bloodline." he whispers and Lucy's eyes widen.

Lucy closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She steels her mind and drains the emotion from her face. She remembers what she was taught about how a queen handled and faced difficult situations. She stood up and looked at the three hybrids before her.

"If all that's true then there's no excuse for what humans did." she tells them. "I don't know what happened between dragons and humans or why the war was started but I'll find out. I'll learn more about the dragons. Whenever I visited other countries they always said dragons were barbaric and violent and dangerous…" she said closing her eyes. "I refused to believe that." she opened her eyes again, her emotions coming back and she looked at them and with all honesty and sincerity said: "My mom taught me that dragons were proud, graceful and powerful creatures. And in my experience that's the truth." Lucy smiles stubbornly at the group, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm going to learn the truth about the war and about dragons so that one day I can wash my family's name of what they did. And i'll bring the dragons back out into the world so they can live peacefully amongst humans again." they looked at her in shock, not knowing what to say.

"Heh, nice try but the wounds from the war are too deep for the dragons to ever forgive your family." Gajeel tells her crossing his arms. "Especially Natsu."

Lucy's widened slightly and her breath caught in her throat. Especially Natsu? There's a tightness in her chest and she clenched her fist. Her family had hurt Natsu. Deeply. The realization of that pained her. She took a deep but shaky breath and looked at Gajeel.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not giving up." she said with determination. "I will never give up."

"Heh. I wondered what it was Natsu-san liked about you." Sting smirks as he looks at her. "I mean other than your big chest and cute face, overall you look pretty common-"

"Hey what's that supposed to mean!" she yells angrily raising a fist in his direction, a pout on her face. Sting laughs at the cute scene before him. "Hey, don't laugh-"

"Uh, miss?" Lucy gets interrupted by a flying black cat coming down in front of her. "I wanted to say sorry for the other day."

"The other day?" Lucy asks a bit confused and then remembers the cat man who had held her for Gajeel but he looked like Happy. She squeaked as he grew to his full height and Gajeel snickered. Yup, she definitely remembered now.

"I like yer guts but l'm still calling you bunny girl." Gajeel tells her.

"What?!" she asks angrily turning on her heels to him. "Like hell you are!"

"It's kinda perfect when you think about it. You're a cute little bunny girl."

"No I'm not!" she protests. "You can't call me that!"

"Try and stop me...bunny girl"

"Haha I definitely know why Natsu-san is keeping you around." Sting smirks as he walks away from the argument. Rogue jumps down from a nearby tree from where he was listening and walks away with Sting.

"Come on Lily. Time for grub." Gajeel says as their fight fizzles out. Panther lily looks over at Lucy with slight concern on his face. He waits for a second before turning to follow Gajeel.

"Don't worry." Lucy says softly to Pantherlily, noting his slight pause, as they leave. "I don't blame you for anything." The black cat nods in understanding and turns back to his smaller form, flying away along with Gajeel.

Wendy smiled at Lucy, happy that she liked dragons and wanted to try to bring peace between them and the humans. She looked over at Happy and Carla small smiles on their faces from the scene they had witnessed. A bit aways deeper into the forest Grandine smiles brightly as she looks off in Lucy's direction. She turns back and lays her head down softly.

"What's the matter?" the light dragon asks as he approaches her."Oh, don't tell me you didn't hear the little, brave voice of our human visitor."

"I did." he nods, a small smile forming. "Maybe she'll be the one to bring forth the light for dragons and hybrids."

 _And maybe she'll bring light to one of our little hybrids in particular._ She thinks to herself with another smile looking in the direction Natsu was. He was parked up high in a tree far enough to where Lucy and the others couldn't see him but not far enough that he couldn't hear what had transpired. He smiled to himself as he looked down at Lucy, the smile soon turning dark.

"Let's see if you can really take my pain away princess." he says jumping down and landing on his feet. "This will be fun." he says lowly as he disappears into the jungle.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: OMG a new chapter finally! Again so sorry it took so long it wasn't supposed to but work again and then there's Anime Expo this last weekend alot to do but things should be settling down. The plan is to have at least another chapter up this week and two more next. Hope you enjoy it, thanks for reading and sticking with the story we appreciate it. Please comment and let us know what you think and how you're liking it or not liking it! Thanks guys!"**

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 **Chapter Nine**

It had been a little over a week now that Lucy had gone missing. At the order of Erza, Knights searched quietly through the kingdom, trying not to alert its people of their missing princess. Meanwhile, she and Jellal had gathered a small, elite team to search outside of its borders. This elite team consisted of rather new soldiers in the form of Gildarts Clive, Laxus Dreyar, and Gray Fullbuster. Only having joined up with the army about 6 months ago, the three had move up in the ranks surprisingly quickly. They had each proven to be very trustworthy people and shown brilliant power, strength, and judgement. She felt right about them. She couldn't have picked better people she thought. In fact the way they were fearless and friendly toward her and Jellal gave her an odd feeling. An almost familial feeling, truth be told and she wasn't exactly sure why but she knew it felt right. It felt like they had all been friends for years.

A few days after they had started their mission Gray had finally caught a lead. While Erza's team was investigating in one of the nearby villages, he had happened to talk to a villager who had seen something a little over a week ago. After listening to the man, Gray found Erza and the others and recounted what he had been told. Apparently, the villager had seen a girl running into the forest. He had tried going after her and even called out to her but she had ignored him and kept running. He couldn't make out who it was, just that she was young and had blonde hair. They couldn't be sure but it was the best lead they had and so Erza and her team decided to head into the forest in the direction the mysterious girl had gone.

 **Tenrou Island**

"I wonder how everyone is." Lucy said quietly to herself.

She looked out at the water from atop the boulder she was sitting on. It had been 10 days since Lucy had first gone missing and she was beginning to worry about her friends, Levy, Cana, and even Erza...Erza. Yeah she was probably gonna freak out and scold her once Lucy was found. IF Lucy was found. Yeah she missed her friends but at least she got out of being forced to marry someone. She had friends now too, well almost. Ever since her confrontation with Gajeel she had been trying her best to understand the dragons and talk with them. For the most part many of them seemed to be passive, even friendly and some even had begun showing her around the island and talking to her about dragons. The ones that were difficult to get close to was the hybrids. She still had problems breaking down the wall between she and them. She didn't know why but it seemed for whatever reason it was them that harbored the most hatred for humans not necessarily the dragons.

Lucy sat, palms on her face and her elbows resting on her lap as she began thinking about the different things she had learned and had been told. She knew that dragons and humans were once at peace but then had gone to war with each other, that much was clear. What she didn't know was what started the war or why the dragons had gone 'extinct'. She just knew that they had vanished after the war and the humans celebrated their victory. Because of her conversation with Sting, though, she had begun to remember what kids had told her from neighboring nations when they were younger. The other kids had told her about how brave human knights fought the violent, ruthless, dragons. They were all kids back then so of course it was over exaggerated but it was the only lead she had. Since talking about dragons and the war was outlawed in her own kingdom she couldn't talk to anyone back home. The history books had acknowledged their existence but that was about it. Never did the books go into detail about anything. Her mom was a different story however. Queen Layla had told her precious little princess stories about how the brave dragons saved Earthland….Wait, they had saved Earthland? But then what happened? Why was there a war between humans and dragons? It made no sense. Why would her bloodline hunt the dragons to extinction if they had saved mankind?

Lucy groaned in frustration, pulling at her hair as she looked down. That was enough for today. She wasn't getting anywhere and was only getting more questions. And as far as the war, she wasn't getting much cooperation from the dragons. Sure they were opening up to her but the subject of the war seemed to be a bit of a taboo, not something that really wanted to talk about. And could she blame them? Not really. She sighed as she stood up and started walking when she heard a voice calling to her.

"Happy." she said to herself, coming to be all too familiar with the blue cat's voice. "Great, that means Natsu's looking for me."

Lucy took off running in the opposite direction. Natsu. Yet another addition to her problems. She didn't know why but for some reason he had started acting weird with her the last few days. It was really strange. He often teased her, always tried to pick a fight with her, no matter how silly the reason. It was really starting to get on her nerves. Especially when one of the dragons had made a comment about them fighting like a married couple. That had annoyed her even more. Sure she had blushed at the statement but they were NOT married. She was starting to feel less like a prisoner and more like a playmate. Just what had gotten into Natsu?

Lucy looked around for somewhere to keep running to or hide. She turned right and kept up her sprint. After a bit she noticed that Happy's voice had faded and she couldn't really hear him anymore. She smiled figuring she had finally lost him and began walking again. She looks up ahead and smiles as she spots Wendy who was walking toward her with a bright smile.

"Hey Lucy." Wendy says as they near each other.

"Hey Wendy. Whats up?"

"Nothing. Just out for a stroll. What have you been up to?" Wendy asks as she kicks out her feet while walking next to Lucy.

"Just thinking." Lucy answers not going into detail about what. "And trying to run from Happy. He probably wanted to take me to Natsu. He's been so annoying lately. I don't know what that dragon boy is thinking! He's always arguing with me and playing around and tickling me, and-" Lucy heard Wendy giggling and looked over to see her smiling face looking at her. "It's not funny!"

"It is a little." Wendy laughs.

"Oh really?" Lucy smirks and lunges for the small girl attacking her with tickles.

Both girls end up on the ground rolling around. Wendy trying to fend off Lucy's tickle attack while both girls are laughing. As they continued playing around Lucy accidentally discovers something interesting and does something that makes Wendy quickly pulls away from her. Lucy smirks playfully and Wendy gets a concerned look on her face. She wasn't sure what Natsu was gonna think if he knew Lucy had found out about that. _Sorry Natsu._ She says silently.

Eventually both girls get back up and walk side by side with smiles on their faces. They part ways with Wendy going home and Lucy heading to Natsu's. Both girls smiled and waved at each other as they parted ways. Lucy smiled, humming to herself as she made the trip back to Natsu's. By the time she reached his place the sun had already been down for a bit and it was getting kinda chilly.

"I'm back!" Lucy called as she entered the warm house.

"Bout time." Natsu said frowning, as he walked in from his bedroom. "Where've you been? What took so long?" he asked as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I was just out walking and then I met u-"

"Tch. don't forget you're my prisoner. This ain't a vacation princess."

"What? I-" she held her hands close to her chest as she began to stumble not knowing why he was being like this or how to feel about it.

"Come on already." he said cutting her off for the second time in a row and walking over to the dining table.

Still in slight shock, her eyes managed to follow Natsu and that's when she saw food on the table. Her mouth opened partially as if she were going to say something when she caught sight of the three plates, but nothing came out. _He was waiting for me to have dinner. That's really sweet._ She thought to herself as her heart began to beat a little faster. A slight blush formed on her cheeks and she looked off to the side. A small pain stabbed at her chest as she then remembered what she had been told, as she remembered how her bloodline had hurt Natsu. How could she fix this? What could she do?

"Natsuuuu! I'm baaaack!" Happy announced flying in. "Is Lucy finally home yet? Oh, hey Lucy!" he greeted as he caught sight of her. "It's about time. Natsu was starving! His stomach was about to-"

"Shut up Happy!" Natsu said annoyed by the ruckus now as Lucy looked over at him with an apologetic look. "Come on let's eat."

"Aye sir!" Happy smiled as he flew to the plate of fish and began eating.

Natsu and Lucy go to the table and sit down on opposite sides of it. Lucy thanks him softly and he just looks at her for a bit before saying a simple "sure" and then eating. She smiles softly as she watched him and then begins to eat herself. After a few minutes, Natsu looked back at Lucy. She seemed to be staring at her food, but on closer inspection, he noticed a range of expressions forming on her face. Her expressions seemed to go from worried to concentrated, then she looked sad and then it changed again to one he could only think of as a hopeful expression. It then changed yet again back to a look of contemplation. Natsu smiled softly thinking that she looked kind of adorable with mix of emotions she was displaying on her face and he figured she probably wasn't aware of it. Yeah she was a little weird. His smile began to widen before he pushed the thoughts out of his mind and returned to eating.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asks her after a few minutes pass and Lucy sighs deeply.

"...but I don't know anything about you." she says softly and slowly.

Though the way she said it sounded more like she had let her thoughts out instead of actually answering his question. He was surprised really. Why did she want to know about him? He then remembered about how she had said she wanted to fix -human-dragon problems. He began to laugh as he thought about that. _She'll never succeed._ He thought to himself. He looked up at her and saw the expression of her face. Her big brown eyes were full of sadness as they seemed to pierce his soul and he notices her eyes were watering, tears forming at the corner of them. His breathe caught in his throat as he looked into her brown eyes, his own moving down to look at her soft pink lips, her mouth slightly parted. Natsu turned away as small blush crept up the back of his neck. Lucy's eyes narrowed in pain and a small tear streaked down the side of her face as she noticed he avoided her. Of course he would, he hated her. She looked down at her lap , her meal forgotten long ago, head lowered and shoulders hunched as she balled her hands into small fists. Silence filled the room and Happy looked at the two and decided to keep his attention on his fish. The silence began to grow and never did Lucy think silence could be so loud, or that it could hurt so much and she didn't know why. The sound of Natsu eating again broke the silence that had begun to painfully fester. Maybe she should just finish her food and maybe try asking again later, or not ask. She grabbed her fork once again but before she could start eating Natsu spoke.

"I was abandoned." he said simply and Lucy looked up at him with a mix of surprise and confusion. "But Igneel found me and he raised me." he continues and Lucy doesn't say anything but simply waits for him to keep talking. Happy looks at Natsu as if to ask 'are you sure about this?'. He sees Happy from the corner of his eye and then shuts them. He takes a deep breath and sighs softly before continuing. "I was abandoned when I was young by my human family. Igneel found me and, I don't know, I guess he saw that I could be talented with magic. So he decided to raise me." Wait, so Natsu was human. She didn't thi-she didn't know what she thought but to know for a fact Natsu was human...Before she could ask anything though he continued. "But Igneel was killed in the war that humans had started a few centuries back." he said in a dark voice and tension began to permeate the room.

She closed her mouth from saying anything more. So he lost a parent just like she did...he lost his father as she lost her mother… true her father was alive but with him ignoring her like this...sometimes it felt like he might as well have been dead too...Wait. 'A few centuries ago'...the words replayed in her mind and Natsu watched her a bit amused by the constantly changing expressions on her face. Natus was suddenly startled when Lucy got up and slammed her palms on the table, the action startling Happy also making him bite down hard on his fish with a yelp.

"Wait! But if that's true then that means Natsu is a few hundred years old?!" she said in a surprised voice.

She had thought they were about the same age. Especially since really she viewed the hybrids as pretty much human despite some of their draconic features. She looked at Natsu with an utterly shocked expression as some things came together and more questions were raised. Of course they lived longer, he was a dragon boy...person. She hadn't really thought what all that meant though until now. Natsu looks at her with a startled expression on his face. He looks over at Happy and Happy looks back at him. They then turned back to look at Lucy who now had both her hands on her head, struggling to process all of the information. Lucy stops as she begins to hear chuckling that grows into loud laughter coming from Natsu and Happy. She frowns at them as Natsu makes a comment about her being weird again but she was happy the tension was gone now. She sits down again, a pout on her face. He smirks at her as he continues eating again and she follows suit. Happy looked at the two of them and then smiled to himself as he turned his attention back to his fish. He thought about how Lucy had really succeeded in creatively lifting the pressure from the room. She brought a smile on Natsu's face again so he's grateful for that because it's something no one had been able to do since Igneel's death.

After they had finished eating, Happy packed a small fish in his bag and then slung it over his back. He told them he was visiting Carla tonight as he flew out the window. He paused before leaving and looked at the two of them. He placed his paw over his mouth and smirked as he told them to behave. Lucy got embarrassed and yelled for him to shut up but Natsu had just shrugged the comment off. After a bit Natsu told her that it was getting late and that they should probably go to sleep. As he walked toward the bed he turned back and saw her still sitting there at the table, unmoving, her head lowered, facing the ground.

"What's wrong?" he asks her softly, which surprised him. She lifted her head and looked at him and his breath caught again as he looked into her big brown eyes, a hint of sadness in them again. Though sad it somewhat gave her a cute look and it began to stir something inside of Natsu that he didn't fully understand.

"I...still don't know much about you. When you finally did tell me something I was stupid enough to ruin the moment and and now I know you'll never tell me about yourself." she said sadly. She tried to imagine the depths of his pain and figured that talking about the past was probably taboo the way talking about the war was in her kingdom. "I'm sorry." she said softly. "I'm sorry for asking something that's painful and I know it's none of my business and I know you hate me and I...just...but I…"

Lucy looked up at him, her brown eyes staring into his onyx ones. Again they seemed to pierce his soul. They pleaded for understanding, begged to know him the way no one else ever had, the way no one else ever cared to know. Those feelings from moments ago began to stir in him once again, like a tearing inside of him that clawed at his insides as he looked at the girl in front of him. The girl who who he had seen bright, and happy and adventurous was now sitting in front of him saddened and quiet and feeling small, begging to understand him. He didn't know why seeing her like this made him feel this way, why it seemed to begin to burn at his insides. He sighed heavily and scratched at the back of his head.

"Come on." he said in an annoyed voice as he walked into his bedroom.

"Wha-" Lucy softly began. She didn't know what was up but she got up and followed him.

"Come on sit down." he said stubbornly as he sat on his bed cross-legged. He put his arms behind his head and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes, as she sat at the other edge of the bed. "This is how it's gonna work. I'll tell you something about me and then you tell me something about yourself." After a few seconds he opened one eye to look at her for some kind of confirmation.

"But why?" she asked, confused. Why would he want to know about her? He hated her so why would he be interested in her?

"It's only fair right?" Natsu said simply. "Think of it as an equal exchange of information." she allowed the smallest of smiles begin to form and simply nodded in agreement.

Lucy learned. My god did she learn about Natsu, getting exactly what she wanted. She found out about how Igneel had taught Natsu magic and how the rest of the hybrids had learned magic from their respective dragons. He told her about how Igneel and Metalicana, Gajeel's father, Natsu had told her, died with most of the other dragons in the war humans had started centuries ago. He told her how it was the head of the Heartfilia family that had betrayed the dragons. He told her that's really all he had known because he was so little back then he didn't know all of the details. He told her how he used to trust humans, especially _him._ Natsu decides not to tell Lucy about _him._ About the person who was supposed to be his brother, the person he had trusted implicitly and who had betrayed him. Natsu shook off the sick feeling it gave him and continued. Finally, he had told her about how the remaining dragons and hybrids were chased from their lands and eventually took refuge in this place, this mysterious island they had found called Tenrou. He didn't know the details of the island or its origins only that it kept them safe and that was all they needed.

Lucy listened intently and heartbreakingly at Natsu's history. He had lost so much and been alone for so long. Sure she knew that he had the other dragons and hybrids here but the way he talked, the way he acted she knew that really he had been alone, save for Happy of course. Little blue furball. But it pained Lucy that her family had taken part, no that they were responsible for what the war and what had happened to the dragons. She didn't know what to say or how to begin to try to fix the damage done, or even if it could be fixed. So she said nothing yet, except for telling him about herself as per their agreement. So he found out about the princess that had come into his life unapologetically and turned it on its head. She told him pretty much everything. She told him about how she was raised in a loving family, but how her mom had died when she was young. She told him about how, before she had died, her mother used to tell her stories about dragons and how they were brave and mighty. She told him talking about the war was taboo in her kingdom and that everyone was always told that it was dragons who had started the war, a fact that she tried to tactfully tell him knowing that it was a sensitive subject. He was still mad at hearing it and she repeatedly apologized but he brushed it off so they could move on. He came to know what led her to run away. How after her mother's death her father began to act cold toward everyone, even ignoring her for most of her life. It was only when she had reached the age of being able to marry did he turn his sights on her again, having her meet all kinds of suitors which ultimately lead her to running away this last time. One of her odder stories of meeting suitors was a middle aged man who was a somewhat short man. He had a rectangular face, flat nose and prominent cheekbones, having stubble around his mouth and chin. He had wavy/spiky orange hair, dark eyes and thick eyebrows. The description of him alone made Natsu recoil, let alone finding out about how he would randomly make weird poses and had a habit of saying 'men'. Apparently he liked to smell people, especially one of her knights Erza, that it was something about her perfume. Natsu shivered as she went on about the otherworldly being. He knew practically right away that he never wanted to meet this Ichiya or whatever his name was. Lucy laughed at his reaction and said that she had no intention of ever seeing him again. Eventually Natsu laughed with her and they continued their conversation well into the night.

Happy came home early the next morning, looking around seeing that they hadn't cleaned up the table he flew into the bedroom. He stopped and hovered in the air as he saw Natsu and Lucy both laying in the bed cuddled up together. He smiled thinking they actually looked kind of cute together like that. They had lost track of the time while they were talking and ended up falling asleep on the bed. As it got cooler and in her sleep, Lucy snuggled closer to the only source of heat, Natsu. Natsu in turn, upon unconsciously feeling her snuggle up to him, wrapped his arm around her, pulling closer to him and never had he slept so well before. They were gonna get one hell of a teasing from Happy when they wake up but for now he was gonna let them sleep. He flew down into them and laid softly between them, as much as he could anyway. He closed his eyes and fell asleep, figuring it would be awhile before the two woke up and freaked out about their situation.

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 **AN: Hahaha Natsu wanting an equivalent exchange of information. who does he think he is Ed Elric?! LMAO. Anyway hope you liked it and don't forget to let us know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hey guys look what's FINALLY up! Sorry for the long delay but I needed to take a small break to rejuvenate myself. in the meantime as some of you may know we started posting a new Nalu fic on here The Housekeeper, and thanks for the support and encouraging comments! It's been very successful. But enough about that we're for the newest chapter of A Princess and A Dragon. really hope you guys like this one. Please comment/review and let us know what you thought. Chapter 11 should go up a lot sooner than this one did so stay tuned. Also just to let you know we will be taking another break after Chapter 13. We have some details to iron out before we progress further than that so the story can be the best it can for you guys. In the meantime enjoy chapter 10!**

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Natsu sat at the dining table, tapping his fingers one after the other on it. The rhythmic sound of his fingers hitting the wood table was the only sound that filled the silence. His head rested in his other hand that was propped up on the table as well. After a few more seconds he looked over at Lucy with an annoyed look.

"Lucy...I don't know how many times I have to say it but I'm sorry." He said fixed in the corner that she was sitting in, silence from her.

Lucy had her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them as she sat in the corner of the room facing the wall. Her shoulders were hunched over and though he couldn't see her face, Natsu swore he could hear her pouting. He allowed a small smile as an image of her face, cheeks puffed out, appeared in his mind. Natsu growled in annoyance and slammed his fist on the table as he got up.

"Come on what happened wasn't a big deal!" He said annoyed still but then pointed at the right side of his face as he completely turned to her. "But this was a bit excessive."

The right side of his face was all red and in the shape of what seemed to be a hand. A couple

Of scratches could be seen but they didn't seem to bother him much. Not as much as the mark and throbbing stinging he felt. Why was he punished? What was it even for?

Apparently, Lucy had been the first to wake up in the morning. She was met with Natsu's face inches away from here, an arm wrapped around her waist and his tail had snakes it's way around one of her legs. Somewhere in between the tangled mess of their limbs was Happy, though she didn't notice. Still in the midst of waking up she looked at Natsu. She smiled softly feeling the end of his tail brush back and forth along her inner thigh ever so softly and slowly. She looked at his sleeping form and looked at his face. He was rather handsome, though she was fully aware of that, but she also found him to be pretty cute when sleeping. She sleepily allowed her eyes to wander down his neck and to his chest when it finally hit her. She was awake now and fully aware of their current state. So she she did what any normal girl would do. She screamed.

A few of the dragons perked up at hearing the faint scream of a female but they decided to ignore it upon realizing it had probably come from Natsu's. Natsu quickly jumped up out of bed ready to fight and Happy had also shot up, springing his wings and flying up a bit. Happy was still in a sleepy daze and then plus the added screaming, proved to be too much for him and he dropped back on the bed passed out. Natsu meanwhile had covered her ears and looked around to see what was wrong. He turned to look at Lucy and the next thing he knew he felt a sharp sting on the right side of his face as Lucy slapped him as hard as she could. It seemed to be too much for him with his guard down and that early in the morning so he too passed out.

"So? What's the deal with slapping me?" Natsu asked still pointing to his face as Lucy turned to face him. "And with making me all deaf this morning huh? Overreact much?"

"Overreact?! It IS a big deal!" She shouted. "I'm a _proper_ lady I'm not supposed to let that happen!" She said more mockingly than anything else.

"Ooh a proper lady." Natsu mocked with a roll of his eyes. "Didn't seem to mind last night…"

"Shut up dragon boy!" She shouted annoyed. "We were just talking and you let us fall asleep!"

"Oh so it's my fault?" Natsu asked unbelievably. "If _someone_ didn't wanna talk and stuff then-"

"Hey, don't try and blame this on me!"

"Oh boy." Happy sighed to himself watching them fight from his spot in the table. "Guys calm down!"

"Quiet cat!"

"Quiet Happy!"

"Okay!" He responded fearfully as they returned to their fighting. He decided it was better to be ignored.

"See that's the problem with you virgins!" Natsu said making Lucy blush furiously.

"Like he's one to talk." Happy mumbled to himself as he rolled his eyes

"He-ju-sh-shut up!" Lucy squeaked in an embarrassed voice. "You don-you…"

"I win." Natsu smirked looking at her as her blush deepened and he turned to walk out leaving Lucy there to sulk in embarrassment. Oh, Natsu was gonna pay for that, she thinks to herself.

Later that day she and Happy went out on one of Lucy's strolls around the island. He looked over at the blonde who had her arms crossed, a concentrated look on her face as she thought of different way she could get back at Natsu. Happy turned to face forward again with a smile as he flew next to her. Every now and then he turned to watch her to make sure she don't walk into anything or off of anything. She was too focused on revenge for her own good. Lucy slightly jumped at hearing a roar, pulling her from her thoughts. Next thing she knew there was a strong gust of wind as a dragon landed in front of them. She looked up at the dragon and saw fire which wouldn't be surprising if he wasn't completely engulfed in flames. Lucy's eyes widened even more when she saw Natsu jump off the back of the fiery dragon.

"Yo. What's up guys?" he grinned as he walked up to them.

"You...what…" Lucy was at a loss for words.

"Fire dragon slayer remember?' Happy said non-chalantly.

"Oh, this is Atlas Flame." Natsu said introducing the dragon. "Atlas, Lucy."

"Nice to officially meet you Lucy." the dragon said to her.

"Atlas here was a close friend of Igneels." Natsu said walking over and patting the dragon.

Lucy looked at the enormous dragon in fascination. Every inch of him was covered in flames, from the top of his head to his razor sharp claws. As she looked closer she began to realize that maybe he wasn't just covered in flames but it seemed like he was fire itself. It was as if his body was made of the flames, he was essentially a burning skeleton. She couldn't believe it. Lucy walked around the dragon inspecting him and for her amusement Atlas spread his fiery wings out.

"Come on." he smiled as he walked up to Lucy and held out his hand.

"What?" she asked confused but finds herself grabbing his hand.

Lucy yelps as Natsu pulls her to him and picks her up bridal style. He looks at her with a reassuring smile before jumping up onto Atlas's back. Lucy got scared and let out a scream as they landed on top of the fiery dragon and they seemed to be engulfed in his flames. As she looked down she realized they landed on a spot that seemed to be a circle of hot coal but free from any fire. Natsu tried to set her down but she grabbed at him tightly.

"I don't wanna get burned." she said instinctively as she held on to Natsu who found that he didn't at all mind the feeling.

"Oi oi oi, young lady, that's quite rude." Atlas said to her. "Unlike you humans I can control my flames." Somehow, Lucy got the feeling he meant something other than fire when he was referring to them. "Don't look down on me princess. I can control when and where I burn."

She decided to trust the dragon and slowly let go of Natsu. She sat down on top of Atlas and to her surprise it didn't burn her. Yeah it was warm but it wasn't painful. She smiled and softly pet Atlas. Natsu sat next to her and made sure she was comfortable before flying off.

"This'll be fun Lucy. Aye." Happy said as he landed on Natsu's shoulder.

The first she had flown above the island it had been fast, in an almost rushed away. Natsu had carried her over his shoulder, a bit rude if you asked her. She didn't have time to properly admire the view. This time, however, she did. This time she got to see everything. She saw the mighty tree that sat in the center of the island, the huge lake that surrounded, the waters shimmering. She looked around at the mountains, their peaks white with snow, they flew higher still and Lucy felt as if they were passing through some sort of veil. It felt familiar but she shrugged it off and decided not to question it. As they continued to climb, they ended up being more vertical. That coupled with the strong gust of wind Lucy was pushed back toward Natsu who was behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and grabbed her shoulder with the other holding her. He pulled her closer and she layed back into him as she continued to look around.

She noticed they had flown past the circle of mountains and high above the clouds. She figured it was noon with the sun being high in the sky. As they pass through the clouds Lucy felt his hands slide from her shoulders down to her wrists. She slightly shivered at his hot touch which was a stark contrast to the cool air around them. Lucy exhaled sharply as he grabbed her wrists and gently began to lift her hands in the clouds. He smirked as he lifted her arms, his mouth near her ear. She felt his hot breath against her ear and felt him behind her. Her stomach flip-flopped as he kept her close. Lucy suddenly squeaked as Atlas began to descend quickly. Natsu held her around her waist to assure and Lucy began laughing at Atlas's flying, feeling like it was some kind of rollercoaster ride. He looked at her and began to laugh with her. Lucy looked out and in the distance she saw her kingdom. Her breath hitched and a sudden sadness washed over her. Immediately, and to her surprise, Natsu held her tighter feeling her sudden change in mood.

After a few more minutes, they began to head back to the nest, ending their little flight. She felt them pass through that same weird veil thing she felt earlier. They landed softly back on the island and Natsu jumped off with Lucy. she lended on the ground and let go of Natsu, stretching. She walked around to face Atlas.

"Thank you for the flight." she said to him with a soft smile and then turned to Natsu. "Both of you. I have a question though...How has nobody seen dragons in centuries if you patrol outside?"

"Hahaha. We don't usually go out that far princess." Atlas Flame said laughing off her question. "Before the war sure, we did it all the time. Now though we just patrol along the borders making sure no one has wandered in. I only flew out that far this time cuz Natsu had asked me to." he informed cocking his head toward Natsu. Atlas then said goodbye and flew away.

Lucy looked over at Natsu who had a hand on the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. She smiled softly, figuring that he had wanted to show off to her or to make up for teasing her so much. She decided not to get revenge on him for this morning considering he had given her such an amazing experience.

"And don't worry Lucy, Natsu's still a virgin too." Happy said non-chalantly but with a smirk.

"Hey, man! What gives?!" Natsu yelled at happy.

"Wh-why are you bringing that up?!" Lucy asked angrily and Natsu glared at him. "But...really? Haven't you ...been around for awhile?" Lucy asked looking over at Natsu amazed at the revelation, especially since he was as good looking as he was, for a dragon boy. "You've never had a girlfriend or...anything? How come?"

"Why? What's the point?" he asked frowning as he looked back at her. "When everything you love is always taken from you...Why be with someone?" Lucy's eyes widened slightly and she felt a stabbing pain in her chest.

"Well, maybe we can change that." she said smiling softly at him and he looked back at her surprised by her response. "And thank you again for today. I want to go on more adventures in the future." she said before walking off with a bright smile on her face leaving Natsu in a daze, a blush across his cheeks.

"You liiiikkkeeee heeeerrrr." Happy said looking at Natsu and rolling his tongue with a smirk.

"Shut up." Natsu said simply, no real meaning behind it as he allowed a small smile to form on his lips.

 **The Forest**

A group of Knights walked in the forests on the outskirts of the Heartfilia Kingdom. They marched along looking for any clue, any sign that could point them in the direction that they needed to go. They had already been in the forest a day and they were still wandering around like lost animals. They were some of the best around they should have been able to find something. Finally, one of the men paused and looked up toward the mid-day sky.

"Hey check that out." Gildarts called to the others pointing up to the sky. "What is that?"

"Looks like some kind of bird." Gray said looking up, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"No, it's too big to be a bird." Erza said joining them. "It...couldn't be a….no...it can't be…" she said shaking her head in disbelief.

"Erza, we should try and follow it." Jellal said. "I think it will lead us somewhere."

She agreed and so the group kept an eye on their flying object. They followed through the forest and until it disappeared behind some large mountains. They exited the tree line and looked at the mountains before them. They were too high and steep to climb and there didn't seem to be a noticeable path cut through them. Erza told them to spread out and search for anything. They really didn't know just that when they did see it they would know. It was a few hours later when Laxus reported back and told them of a cave he had found that lead into the mountain. So the group made their way to the cave and entered the mountain.

 **Tenrou Island**

Lucy watched from the window as the last traces of light disappeared. Darkness fell as a cool gust of wind passed through the island. She grabbed hold of the window's ledge and closed her eyes as she felt the cool breeze blow past her. Lucy inhaled and smiled as she listened to the various sounds emanating from jungle. They weren't loud but if you listened, in the quiet, you could hear sounds coming from the island.

"Hey, you can sleep in the bed okay?" Natsu said entering the bedroom behind her. She turned around to face him with a confused look. Why would he let her use his bed? What's gotten into him? After a minute passed and he still hadn't gotten some kind of response from her he got annoyed. "Come on go already. I can tell you're tired and the floor isn't the best place to sleep so get in the bed. Don't worry I'll sleep on the floor. Promise I won't sneak in the bed or anything."

"O-Okay...thanks." she says softly making her way to the bed and getting under the covers.

Early the next morning Lucy bolted upright in the bed, breathing heavily, eyes darting around the room. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she tried to control her breathing. She had a dream and not necessarily a good one. It wasn't really a nightmare either but it left her feeling awkward and afraid. In the dream she had been sitting in a place thick with fog, she couldn't make out where exactly was and there was nothing in sight. Suddenly, a silhouette appeared and as she looked harder she could make out a woman's form. A growing whisper came from the silhouette as she held out a hand to Lucy. The whispering grew until she understood it to be saying "come forward." She took a step back from the mysterious figure and refused the beckoning call. Lucy froze, afraid to do anything, not sure what even what she could do. Lucy finally calmed down a bit and began to really look around the room. She noticed Natsu was gone, probably out patrolling or something. She sighed softly and got out of bed to start her day.

Later in the day, Grandeeney had found Lucy sitting near a small lake. She sat on a boulder, her elbows propped on her lap and hands holding her head. Lucy exhaled sharply as she looked down at the ground, listening to the leaves rustling in the wind. As Grandeeney neared the girl she noticed that Lucy looked rather sad. She felt bad for the her, wondering if something had happened and why she was in such a state.

"What's wrong child?" she asked softly.

"Nothing's wrong." Lucy says dejectedly and looks off to the side, staring at her reflection in the water.

"I wanted to thank you Lucy." Grandeeney began and Lucy slightly looked over at her. "To thank you for being here. You warmed up fast to the dragons and hybrids. And even if you haven't realized it, the mood around here has lifted substantially since your arrival...especially with Natsu."

"No." Lucy said her voice barely a whisper. "Definitely not with Natsu."

"It's true child."

"No, he told me." Lucy said, the pain in her voice growing. "Natsu told me about Igneel. He was excited to share his memories of the ma-dragon who raised him. But Igneel was taken from him, like my mom was taken from me. I understand his pain. No...it's worse." Lucy's voice cracked and she looked up at Grandeeney as tears began to streak down her cheeks. "It's worse because Igneel was killed by humans, by _my_ bloodline, my family. I could never bring happiness to Natsu. I'm contaminated. I-"

"You're wrong child. You did nothing wrong, and you'd never do anything like that." the white dragon told her in a comforting voice. "I still trust humans. I trusted the Heartfilia family and I still do. I believe in you Lucy Heartfilia." she said looking into Lucy's water filled eyes. Grandeeney smiled softly seeing the courage and hope begin to return to the girl.

Meanwhile, Natsu stood before the glowing green energy orb, the Dragon Pulse, as Natsu and the others called it. The green glow bathed the cave and Natsu in its green hue. He slowly paced in front of the energy orb a look of contemplation and confusion on his face. He was torn, he was confused, he didn't know what to do anymore.

"I'm lost Igneel. I hate the humans. I hate them for what they took from us...for what they took from me...for killing you...I hate the Heartfilias. I want them to pay." Natsu said gritting her teeth and then stepping toward the orb, placing a hand on it. "So why? She was supposed to be my prisoner, I was going to kill her, I was going to use Lucy to get my revenge on them...Why then? Why can't I anymore? Why does it feel...wrong?" Natsu placed his other hand on the orb as it pulsed and he leaned his forehead against it, feeling like if his chest tightened anymore it would crush his heart. "I trusted them, I loved them, I _am_ one of them and they took you. Why did they have to take you? Why can't I let go of the past for Lucy?" his eyes widened in surprise at his thoughts. What had he just said? "Why can't I….Why can't I let go of the past for her?! Why can't I be the one for her?! Why can't I be the person you thought I could be?! Igneel! What do I do?!" he shouted to the ceiling as he collapsed to his knees. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily and his head lowered. Natsu suddenly remembered something Igneel had told him long ago.

"You're not just anyone Natsu. You have a big heart and a capacity for love that not many have." Igneel told him with a proud smile. "And you're my son. But it's you Natsu. Being both a human and from the world of dragons, you can be the one to bridge our two worlds. You could help to forever unite humans and dragons."

Natsu exhaled sharply a small burst of flames emanating from his mouth but then quickly dissipating. He stopped his thoughts and forced his mind to clear. He was tired. He was confused and conflicted still. He opened his eyes a hardened expression on his face. He inhaled once more, his thoughts threatened to return, and exhaled clearing his mind completely. He looked at the Dragon Pulse once more before turning around and walking out of the cave. He began the trek home, and as he neared was met with a pleasant aroma. He ran the rest of the way and entered his house to find Lucy and Happy cooking in the small kitchen. He walked slowly toward them as they greeted him. She was cooking meat for the two of them and fish for Happy. He watched in a daze as Happy places plates on the table and Lucy walked to the table to put the food on it. He looked at the two of them from where he stood, a look of surprise and confusion on his face.

"Natsu, you going to eat with us?" Lucy asked pulling him from his trance.

"Uh...yeah." Natsu said joining them at the table as they sat down.

Natsu looked at the food, it was nothing fancy like what he imagined kings ate but it sure did smell good. He felt the pangs of hunger from not having eaten all day and his mouth watered at the pleasant aroma. After she had served all of them, Natsu grabbed his fork, which he didn't even know they had, and took a bite of his food. Natsu thought he could die from how good the food was. Never had he tasted anything so delicious. He began to quickly scarf down the food and Lucy looked over at him with a soft smile.

"I wasn't allowed to cook." Lucy began, filling the silence. "But I had managed to learn a few recipes from some friends when I would sneak out of the castle." Natsu couldn't help but smile thinking of his princess sneaking out of her family's castle. "To be honest you didn't have many ingredients or spices so I had to use whatever I could find. I hope it's at least decent."

"Aye! This fish is delicious Lushi!" Happy said as he munched on his food.

"The food...isn't bad." he said controlling his response, looking away from her with a slight blush. She smiled at him and returned to her plate of food.

That night it came again. Again Lucy was confronted by the mysterious woman. Surrounded by the fog and the cold detached voice beckoning Lucy to her. She bolted up in the bed sweating and breathing heavily. She fought to catch her breath as she looked around the dark room. She could just barely make out the lump that was Natsu's body on the floor where she had previously slept.

"Something wrong?" he asked sleepily as he rolled over to face her direction.

"I'm fine. It's okay." Lucy said finally calming down and she laid back down.

Lucy tried to go back to sleep but to no avail. She tossed and turned in the bed but she couldn't seem to fall back asleep no matter what she did. She sighed heavily staring up into the darkness. She didn't want to have that dream-nightmare, whatever it was. She just didn't want to have it again, didn't want to see it. It scared her. Natsu could hear her shifting and trying to fall back asleep. It was annoying having to hear her toss and turn. He got up and walked toward the bed mumbling something under his breath, half awake. He sighed as he sat on the bed next to her, he looked over at her with an unintentional scowl. He valued his sleep and didn't like being woken up in the middle of the night if he didn't have to. Before she could protest he hushed her, telling her to go to sleep as he layed down next to her. He faced her and wrapped his arms around her protectively, pulling Lucy to him. Her heart beat faster and she felt her temperature rise as she felt his hot breath on her face. He closed his eyes not daring to look at her, feeling that his heart was already pounding enough in his chest. A blush formed on her face as she felt his body pressed against hers. He smelt of cinder and ashes not unlike warm, cozy campfire. Her body and mind felt the invitation of sleep and finally she closed her eyes. They both slept peacefully that night, better than either had in awhile. Well, except for the last time they had fallen asleep together.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update I promise I'll try and update this fic quicker with the next couple chapters. I can focus on them a little more now that Housekeeper is done xD Hope you enjoy this chapter and continue to enjoy the fic. As always please comment/review and let us know what you think! Hopefully for those of you who like our fics we can get another surprise out to you soon too :) Thanks for the continued support!**

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Lucy sighed pleasurably. Nothing beat having a nice relaxing shower in nature. She had found a beautiful secluded waterfall and decided to bathe in it. It had been awhile and she wanted to make sure she was clean since Wendy was kind enough to modify and give Lucy one of her dresses. Lucy felt bad knowing that their body types were quite different and so figured Wendy had to do quite a bit of adjusting. Sure there were other female hybrids but seeing as dragons were possessive creatures, her chance at getting new clothes was close to zero. It was kind of Wendy to let her borrow a dress. She thought back to when Wendy had stopped by this morning. While happy to give Lucy something, she noticed that the young hybrid looked a bit dejected and kept stealing glances at Lucy's chest when giving her the dress. Poor Wendy. She thought about the top that Natsu had given her to wear when they first arrived. Yeah he had ripped her dress, a memory that made Lucy frown and grumble, so he better had given her something to wear. Lucy wondered, though, why Natsu had gotten grumpy when Wendy stopped by and offered her the dress. He had kind of been against it and it puzzled her. Finally, though, she and Wendy had convinced Natsu that his vest wasn't enough for her.

Lucy finished with her morning bath and began to wade toward her clothes that sat on a rock surface nearby. Suddenly she begins to hear rustling sounds coming from jungle around her. She looked around quickly looking for the source of the noise and crossed her arms across her chest, covering her breasts. She shouted out for whoever was there to show themselves. Seconds later Natsu pops out from the treeline and lands in front of her near the edge of the water.

"Yo."

"Kyaaahhhhh!" she yells out at the sudden intrusion, dropping down so that she was immersed to her neck in the water.

"You really shouldn't be so scared, but you're weird so I guess it can't be helped." he said snickering.

"I'm the weird one?! I'm not the one walking in on you taking a bath!" she said angrily rising from the water and moving toward him.

"Yeah but you want to." he smirked and her face flushed red.

"N-no I don't! Shut up you weirdo!" she spouted back. "Why are you here anyway? I'm naked, is there no privacy here?"

They were now just inches apart as she had moved forward again. The way Natsu crouched down on his knees, combined with the spot Lucy was standing in, it being more shallow near the edge, allowed for them to be face to face. Natsu's eyes trailed down from her face, past her breasts, which she had somehow managed to unconsciously cover. His eyes followed the trails of water that dripped down her stomach, allowing him to see just how soft, how perfect her skin was, once again. They followed down to where the droplets met the water again, the waterline stopping a few inches below her navel forbidding him to see her entirely. He swallowed hard as his eyes lingered on the area just below her navel, before the waterline. He found himself suddenly wanting to lick the water off of her stomach.

Natsu's sudden distraction did not go unnoticed by Lucy. She frowned wondering what could be so interesting as to grab his attention so easily. She look at him curiously and follows his gaze, realizing it was still aimed at or near her. That's when she looked down and realized that at some point she had raised, almost completely and dangerously, out of the water.

"P-pervert!" she squeaked covering herself more with her arms and turning away from him.

"Pervert?" Natsu asked amused by her embarrassment. "I'm not the one stark naked."

"Hey! Yo-"

"Quiet!" Natsu said seriously before looking around and Lucy pouted, still covering herself but listened. He sniffed the air and listened for what he had heard seconds ago, someone was coming.

"Hey." Sting smiled landing a few feet to Natsu's right, Lucy squeaking in surprise.

"Hey man." Natsu says looking at him. "What's up?"

"You're gonna miss training with the others." he tells Natsu, who simply nods.

Training? As in dragon training? Lucy perked up at hearing about their training. She was curious about it. Sure she would LOVE to see them training. But would they even let her? What if it was a secret? Or maybe it was something sacred to them? That would mean she'd never be allowed to see them training or doing other dragon-y things. The boys heard a sound of frustration come from the blonde. They both turned to her to see her with her hands on her head, a look of concentration on her face and her breasts exposed for both boys to see. They had no idea what was wrong with her and right now, Natsu didn't care as he was distracted by...other things. That's when he realized something and he looked over at Sting who was looking at Lucy also, a look of curiosity on his face. Natsu got annoyed and dropped down into the water walking toward Lucy. He stops right in front of her and she looks up at him curiously. He slightly bent forward and cupped her breasts in his hand, immediately realizing he liked the feel of them.

"What the hell are you doing?" she squeaked , her face she was sure was as red as Erza's hair.

"I'm covering you up." He says nonchalantly and then glares at Sting, who laughed nervously, realizing what he had been looking at. He immediately understood Natsu's actions, knowing how possessive dragons were of their 'belongings'.

"Sorry. We'll wait for you at the training grounds." Sting said cautiously before leaving in a hurry.

Natsu was still annoyed at Sting having seen something he shouldn't of. Lucy looked down with a frown at his hands still covering his breasts, though it wasn't the worst feeling. "How long are you gonna keep doing that?!" she asked in annoyance, her eye twitching slightly.

Before he knew it he was slapped on the face AGAIN. Boy this girl was violent. Natsu growled softly but saw the look of anger and embarrassment on her face and decided to let it go. He turned from her in annoyance as he rubbed his cheek. He walked out of the water with his back to her giving her privacy.

"Just get ready." he said. She followed him out making sure he kept his back to her but was confused by his words.

"Why?" Lucy asked as she grabbed the dress Wendy had given her and looked at it.

"To go to training with us. What else?" he said in an obvious voice and she paused looking at him. Training? Natsu was going to take her to their dragon training.

"Yes!" she shouted happily dropping the dress and raining her hands up in the air.

Natsu smiled at her kiddy response but then his expression changed. Seconds later, Lucy realized that she was still naked and had just revealed herself completely to Natsu. She looked at him and saw him staring at her, not knowing what he was thinking at all. His intense stare was a mix of obliviousness and pure lust, his arms folded across his chest. She felt her heart beat faster and her body temperature rise drastically, getting red from top to toe.

"Turn around NATSUUU!"

After a while, Gajeel finally caught sight of Natsu coming toward the training grounds. He sighed heavily and asked him what had taken so long but then paused in surprise. On the left side of Natsu's face was a red mark. A smirk started to spread on Gajeel's face until Natsu glared at him with a "Don't you dare ask" look. That's when Gajeel caught sight of Lucy coming toward them and everything made sense. He chuckled softly looking at a still pissed off Natsu. He heard the fire user mutter something about "Sting's fault" leaving him wondering what had happened. Natsu and Gajeel headed toward the other hybrids while Lucy was called off to the side by Wendy.

Lucy smiled at Wendy and walked up to meet the young girl who was running toward her. Wendy smiled brightly looking at Lucy, who was wearing the white dress she gave her. In reality, the dress was a little too short for her taste, stopping well above the knees, and the top of the dress was a bit small thus showing off Lucy's ample cleavage. Lucy had been embarrassed by how revealing it could be when she first put it on but Wendy had gone through the trouble of trying to get her some real clothing so she couldn't refuse it now. Looking down at Wendy, Lucy caught sight of her dress. Their dresses had looked somewhat similar, both being pure white. Wendy's dress had a ruffled light yellow trim around the skirt, and large red bows tied around her waist and then loosely around her neck. Lucy's skirt was ruffled but remained white like most of her dress but there was a blue design that went up the sides of the dress and over Lucy's bust, and a blue bow was tied around Lucy's neck. The way they were dressed, Lucy thought maybe they looked a bit like sisters making her smile. She had never had any siblings, well there was Erza who was like a protective older sister, but she didn't have anyone to be like a younger sister. That's what she saw in Wendy and she liked that, hoping that maybe Wendy felt the same.

As Wendy walked Lucy over to where she was sitting, Lucy looked around noticing now that they seemed to be in some kind of outdoor arena but that was free of any fences or cages. Dragons and other cats like Happy and Carla surrounded the arena like they were spectators. She looked at the cats and noticed that they all had wings just like Happy. She remembered Wendy calling them Exceeds or something like that. There were slightly more exceeds than dragons and hybrids and they all seemed to be about the same age as Happy, with only a few a bit older. She then turned her attention to the dragons and hybrids, noticing that the number of hybrids was higher. Most of the hybrids seemed to be specifically by a certain dragon. Then she had noticed that a few were by themselves, not by a dragon. She wondered why. Then it hit her. The war. Not only people, but dragons too had died. Lucy lowered her head sadly at the harsh realization. Out of the corner of her eye she looked over at the hybrids who were without dragons. There were a few she didn't know but the she had caught sight of Gajeel and Natsu. Her heart sank as she remembered Wendy telling her that dragons were the parents of hybrids. Sure it was weird trying to think about how a human and a dragon went about making a hybrid given certain...factors, but that was the last thing on her mind now. She thought again about the fact that Igneel was killed in the war. That was Natsu's father, his only family. She remembered again about Natsu talking about Igneel, the enthusiasm and love in his voice. He loved Igneel just as she had loved her mom.

She blamed herself for stealing someone so important to them. Yeah maybe it wasn't her directly but it might as well have been. It was her bloodline after all. Lucy was shaken from her thoughts as someone hit her shoulder as they walked by telling her to move. She realized she was still in the arena and saw the hybrids gathering off to the side ready to start or something. She looked up and heard Happy's voice calling out to her and Wendy. She looked at the hybrids and uttered a soft 'sorry' before following Wendy to where Happy was with Carla and Grandeeney. As they reached the seats, Happy looked at Lucy and called her weird for spacing out the way she did making her pout. He turned to offer Carla a fish which she refused with a 'hmph', leaving the blue cat with tears in eyes. Lucy couldn't help but smile and pet Happy on the head.

"So, how exactly do they train?" she asks him turning back to look at the hybrids.

"Just wait and see." Happy said casually as he munched on his fish.

She frowned at Happy because of his attitude and turned back to the arena. It looked like the hybrids were talking amongst themselves before suddenly splitting apart. She watched as two of the hybrids stepped forward and seemed to get into a battle position. It was then she understood that the way they trained was by brawling with each other. Lucy watched in awe at the magic being used in the brawls before her. She had never seen fights like it, making her wish that she could use magic and fight too. It actually looked kinda fun to do.

"I'm bettin on Sting! He's definitely gonna win this time." a brown cat said stepping up next to Happy. He had his hands on his hips and a smile plastered across his face, and wearing a blue vest. "Fro thinks so too." Lucy looked over to see a green exceed in a type of pink frog suit. It was a bit odd but she thought he or she looked cute in it and it somehow fit.

"Nah, Natsu will win." Happy said cheerfully.

"No, Sting will. He's been training hard, Natsu doesn't stand a chance."

"Natsu will always win. He's the best and strongest." Happy said and the two began to argue about who was going to win with Frosch agreeing in his own way.

"Boys." Carla said shaking her head at them.

"At least our masters can fight. Wendy is just a healer." Lector teased and Lucy got a bit upset at that.

"Wind magic can be used for battle too you know." Carla spoke up before Lucy could say anything. "But not all battles are just about strength and power. You need tactics and brains to be able to outthink your opponent. Also, Wendy's healing ability is a big advantage in any ability. Or who else would you have heal Sting and Natsu?" Lucy smiled but felt like a foreigner in the conversation. She listened intently, though eager to learn more about the magic they used.

"And who are you human?" Lector said looking at Lucy, noticing how she watched them. "You Natsu's woman or what?' he eyed her with a smirk, a hand on his chin as if he were thinking it over. Lucy blinked at him once...twice.

"N-no." she blushed madly as she denied it.

"Hohoho then why are you blushing human?" he asked in a teasing manner making her more embarrassed.

"Heh, that Natsu is finally into a woman huh? It's about time." a green dragon said looking down at Lucy.

Lucy looked up at the dragon and noticed he seemed to be a jade color. She looked at him studying his appearance. This jade dragon had a flat skull and big jaw, two strands of hair hanging from it. His eyebrows were a contradiction being a thick and bushy and being a kind of light pink color. Hie eyes were a soft green color but intense looking at the same time. She was fascinated by the row of spikes that traveled down his spine, and he had jagged scales. It seemed like he was made to fight.

"Hehe, looking closer at you it seems you have curves in all the right places. I wonder how he keeps his hormones in check with you around." he smirks and Lucy gets red from top to toe.

"Quiet Zirconis! The noises you're making are disturbing my concentration." Grandeeney scolded making Zirconis smirk more.

"Hey, I'm just stating a fact here." Lucy was now redder than ever, probably even redder than Erza's hair and she didn't think that was possible. She shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't a big fan of the attention she got from them, it made her feel a bit dizzy.

Back in the arena Natsu won his match by sending Sting flying into the ground harder and further than he's ever done to anyone. He stood panting as he watched Sting skid across the ground, his body tumbling. Sting finally stopped, laying on his stomach with an audible groan.

"Yoshaa! Who's next?!" Natsu smiled as he looked in Sting's direction. "That was for seeing Lucy naked."

"I said I was sorry." Sting said weakly and sorry he had ever gone to look for Natsu earlier.

Natsu paused noticing he wasn't getting as much attention as usual. Not that he was conceited but he had to admit he did like getting some attention. Who didn't? He looked around and that's when his ears caught part of a small conversation between some hybrids that were standing in a group, mostly males. They were talking about...Lucy. Natsu's eyes narrowed as he heard them talking about how pretty she looked and how hot she was. He should've expected this being that most of the hybrids were male. He looked in Lucy's direction and saw her looking all flushed with Zirconis smirking, Grandeeney looked slightly annoyed, and a few exceeds were around her also. He heard a whistle from behind and turned his head sharply back to the group of hybrids. They were eyeing Lucy with hungry eyes. He knew exactly what was going through their minds. He didn't mind them acknowledging that she was hot and beautiful but that was all. She was _not_ for them.

"Tch." Natsu muttered and walked out of the arena in Lucy's direction.

He looked at her from head to toe. Of course that dress HAD to outline her curves more than it should. She should've kept his long vest. At least that covered her chest a bit more and went down to her knees. Lucy caught sight of Natsu walking up. She watched as he took off his vest and threw it to her. She caught it and looked at him curiously, blinking.

"Put it on." he said more as an order with an annoyed face and voice.

Lucy obeyed and started to put it on. At least it would cover her chest up a bit. Natsu glared at Zirconis and then turned to glare at the other hybrids. Upon seeing that they had gotten his attention the group split up and pretended as if nothing had happened. Zirconis smirked and Happy covered his mouth with a cheeky grin leaving Lucy confused. The confusion quickly left as she watched a now shirtless Natsu walk back to the arena. She swallowed hard and felt her blush beginning to return.

"Who's next?!" Natsu challenged as he entered the arena again.

Gajeel watched him and wanted so badly to tease him but he knew better. Natsu looked utterly pissed and with what he just witnessed it was better to leave him be. After all it was never a good idea to challenge a dragon where his 'possession' was concerned, especially not the future _dragon king's._ Everyone watched as the match proceeded with no further complications, at least concerning Lucy. Everyone had gotten the message even if she didn't.

Lucy kept her eyes on the fight and on Natsu. He never lost a match. Her stomach did backflips as she watched him fight. The moves he executed along with the way he roared and used his fire magic. She watched his half naked body do flips and fly and spin as he fought. She blushed slightly at the sight of his sweaty body, his hair heavy with sweat making his bangs cover his forehead. After the match, she thanked the dragons and hybrids for letting her watch them train. She was happy that she was learning more of their traditions and felt like she was still making progress. She just hoped she could fix the mess her bloodlines caused...especially for Natsu.

 **The Caves**

"Damn it!" Gray chouted. "I'm tired. How long have we been in these damn caves?!" he asked annoyed and panting.

"I'd say about two days probably." Laxus says.

"Screw it. You sure there's an exit around here? Our supplies are running really low you know."

"Silence, Gray. We're all tired." Erza said stepping forward.

"We're getting nowhere." Gray complained.  
"Erza. We should take a break." Jellal said logically and giving her that look he normally does when he knows she's overdoing it.

Erza sighed, she didn't want to but he was right. "Fine." she gave in and walked over to sit on a large boulder.

After the first day walking around in the caves they felt like they had made progress by finding passages leading deeper into the caves. It seemed to makes sense and like it was clear what direction they had to go in. But as they got deeper the caves multiplied and got confusing. They spend most of the second day wandering around and going in what seemed like circles. As they got deeper the caves had luminous crystals that they at first had liked and admired. Now though they seemed to be a deadly trap.

"They look like stars." Gray said to no one in particular as he looked up.

"Now, is not the time to sound dramatic." Laxus told him. "Stop complaining and let's get on with it."

"Hey, I'm not complaining!" Gray said getting up. "And you're the one who found this hellhole! This is your fault!"

"What did you say runt?!"  
"Shut up!" Gildarts said getting in between them and grabbing their shoulders. He moved them a few steps and turned them to face the same direction. "Look at that." he smirked.

They squinted their eyes and rubbed them. Surely what they saw wasn't right. Light. It was faint but it was light, different from the luminous crystals. That meant only one thing: exit. With one final spurt of energy they took off running in that direction. As they rounded the cave wall and continued toward the light they found it. For the first time in two days they saw light. For the first time they saw an island in the middle of a gigantic lake, mountains surrounding the lake. A large tree grew from the center of the island. They were speechless. They had never seen anything like it. From the looks of it, it was evening. The fading light casting its last few rays across the island and clear water. This had to be where she was.


	12. Chapter 12

**Finally a new chapter! Thanks for the patience guys. Hope you enjoy this chapter as things get interesting. Will try to get the next chapter up much faster. I know I always say that but I'm really working on keeping true to that. Please review/comment and let us know how you liked the chapter and what you liked. Speculations are welcome too xD. Always enjoy reading what you have to say. Thanks for the continued support!**

 **Think i might start sharing soem of the reviews from a previous chapter on a new one. so a review from Chapter 11 that I liked:**

 **An Amber Pen-Oh crap, I was really hoping they would just get led around in a circle and end up back at the entrance in that cave. Lucy is definitely not going to want to go back, and Natsu is not likely to let her go without a fight. Please keep writing!**

 **Thanks for being a frequent reviewer and supporter of our fics!**

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"Achoo!" Gildarts sneezed for the upteenth time. "Sniff sniff. Ah man." He shivered slightly as he rubbed his arms.

They had finally found the exit to the cave system and found themselves in some type of enclosed area with a huge lake that had an island in the middle of it. The thought was that Lucy was there but with it being nightfall it wasn't a good idea to explore an unknown island. Who knew what kind of weird creatures were there and if they had to fight, it definitely was not the best idea to fight in the dark. As good of warriors as they might be they'd still be at a disadvantage, even Erza knew that.

"Erza-chan, c'mon, why don't we set a fire...It's freezing out here." Gildarts whined to her.

She turned to glare at him but he only smiled goofily back in response. Gray shook his head and sighed with disbelief. Gildarts didn't seem to fear Erza at all. Sure he was strong, probably even stronger than her but it was still Erza. As far as the 'if looks could kill' department was concerned, Erza was queen.

"Come on just suck it up old man." Gray said. "Enough of your whining."

"Eeeh but I'm cold." he said childishly.

"A fire in the open with an unexplored island not too far off where an odd creature landed is not a good idea." Erza told them. "It will attract unwanted attention and we're in no condition to fight things or people we know nothing about. If Lucy was indeed abducted." she said the last part under her breath.

"We're all tired from wandering around in those caves for the last two days." Jellal added.

"I know that much." Gildarts pouted.

Gray glared at Gildarts. When it came down to it Gildarts was a man you could count on but sometimes...dealing with him was like dealing with a spoiled child. The fact that he was a middle aged man and not even nearly as young as the others made his attitude all the more awkward. Laxus frowned at Gildarts and sighed heavily.

"And? "What are we gonna do now?" he finally spoke. "Wait til dawn and then raid the island hoping to find a lost bunny?" Now Erza glared at him.

"I don't know if the princess is there or not but now there's something else I need to check with my own two eyes." she said turning to look at the island as she thought about the creature they had seen.

"You know if the princess isn't here then we wasted two days in the caves and I don't even want to think about how much time we'll lose trying to get back out of them." Gray said interrupting her thoughts.

Sure they had one lead on Lucy that sent them this way but it was far from a guarantee. It made them search through the woods, where they didn't find her, so far. But how far could she go? She's been missing for a few days and she probably left without any provisions. So she either managed to make it through all of this and to the next village or she was still lost in the woods...or maybe she was attac-no...Erza shook the thoughts from her mind. Lucy was a strong princess and she had trained the princess herself in self defense and some other matters. Erza smirked to herself.

"Who knows? But one things for sure." she said with a proud smile. "I've been blessed with good luck before and it's never failed me." she turned to the others with a smile still on her face. "And I have a feeling that what we're looking for is here and we're going to find even more. Now that we've finished eating I want you all to get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow. We're going to cross the water to the island, get more provisions and then explore the island. Do I make myself clear?" she asked and they all nodded. "Okay then, now off to bed." she said in a demanding voice.

Erza looked back to the entrance of the caves as the others made themselves comfortable so as to try and get some sleep. She turned and walked over to the edge of the cliff that they were on and stared across the water to the island. Lucy had to be there. She knew it and she knew there's something else there. Possibly something dangerous. She hoped Lucy was okay, if she had been hurt nothing could save her captor's from her wrath.

"She's okay." Jellal said softly and Erza looked next to her, startled by the fact that he had been able to get there without her noticing.

"Oh? And how do you know? It's been days Jellal."

"Because she's strong." he said simply. "And because you trained her. You prepared for this kind of thing."

"Not for this, not like this." Erza said and Jellal could hear the worry in her voice even more now. It was something she seemed to be able to hide from the others but not from him. Erza continued to stare at the island and she felt Jellal's arms wrap around her waist as he moved behind her.

"She's tough and smart and your best student and you trained her well, as well as any of your high ranking knights." he said holding his wife close to him. "She's fine. Of that I have faith and so should you Titania." he said softly as he gently kissed her neck and Erza allowed herself to be comforted by her husband and his words.

 **Tenrou Island**

The woman stood before her just as she had every night for the last few nights. Still cast in an ominous silhouette, beckoning Lucy to her. Despite the silhouette Lucy could still make out some features, the most interesting of which were what seemed to be two horns protruding from the sides of the woman's head. They pointed upwards and were large in size. The woman herself seemed to be have a shapely figure and a sizeable bust to match. Whatever she was wearing seemed to be hanging off of her shoulders and wrapped around her torso. The silhouette moved ever closer to Lucy.

" _Come here child...just a little closer." the voice beckoned._

" _N-no st-stay away! Don't come closer!" but the woman didn't listen. "Stay away from me! NO!"_

Lucy bolt up in bed, her eyes wide with fear. She panted heavily as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. It was dark. She looked around and looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes began to focus and her breathing started to steady some. She realized she was in Natsu's house, in his bed. Of course she was, where else would she be? She looked over and spotted Natsu on the floor. He had a sheet over him and Happy curled up near him.

Without even thinking about it she began to move slowly out of the bed. She grabbed the blanket of the bed and her pillow and slowly, quietly made her way toward Natsu. Her eyes stayed on his form as she slowly dropped to her knees next to him. She looked him up and down as he slept. He looked so peaceful, so pure and innocent. He looked...cute. Lucy smiled softly and blushed lightly at the thought. Scooping Happy up in her arms, she gently placed her pillow next to Natsu's and laid down facing him as she pulled the blanket over her body. She looked at Natsu's sleeping face once more before closing her eyes. For some reason she felt safe with him there next to her. She figured it was probably because he had calmed her down the first time she had had the dream. Still she had a bad feeling regarding her dreams. Lucy sighed softly and cuddled with Happy as she drifted off to sleep.

Natsu began to slowly wake the next morning, the smell of vanilla and lavender filling his nostrils. The sweet scent was so strong and powerful that it felt within his reach. He slowly began to open his eyes as he woke. As he did so he caught sight of Lucy, her face just inches from his and his eyes widened. She was so close their noses were nearly touching and he could feel her breath on him. He had apparently wrapped an arm around her body and their legs were a tangled mess. Then he became aware of his tail wrapped around one of her legs making him blush slightly. How did this happen?

"Mh." He heard the sound come from her and he froze. "N-Natsu."

His heart skipped a beat. Hearing his name escape her lips in the way that it did surprised him. It wasn't hearing his name come from her that was surprising but rather the fact that he found he didn't seem to hate or mind it. His eyes suddenly caught a lump of blue that was curled up on her chest. Happy. He was cuddled up nice and cozy in her a big grin on his face. Natsu frowned. Damn cat getting all the juicy stuff. He wanted to grab his cat throw it off of her and take its place. Wait what?! That was a weird thought.

Natsu sat up quickly and managed to uncurl himself from her without making it too painful. His quick movement and lack of his presence however, earned him a squeak from the sleeping princess and muttered protests from Happy. He looked down at a still half asleep Happy and Lucy who was waking up and looking at him.

"What's wrong?" Happy asked sleepily as Lucy sat up and places her hand over Natsu's heart.

"Hey, everything okay?" She asked softly not knowing what happened. She looked up at him with her brown eyes and he was forced to look away. Damn...he couldn't look at her now. A small blush formed on his face.

"N-Natsu what happened?" She asked, her sweet voice ringing in his ears. He had to get away and fast.

"Tch." He stood up and began to walk out. "Need some air."

Lucy watched as he left the house, confused. She didn't know why he was acting so weird...well maybe it wasn't weird. She still didn't understand Natsu completely. She frowned slightly and then began to look around. That's when she realized they had slept together. Again. A mad blush began to spread on her cheeks. Happy looked at her and covered his mouth as he smirked and she lowered her head in embarrassment. She got back up and slowly made her way back to the bed. She dropped on it face down and just layed there. The fact they should gone and slept next to him last night kept returning to her.

Lucy cursed to herself as she walked around the island. Where was Natsu? She had been looking for him since morning and it was close to noon now. He hadn't returned home so after having breakfast with Happy she decided to go out and search for him. She had wanted to apologize for getting into his...er…'bed'. She stopped walking and sighed heavily. Lucy was about to quit when she heard voices. Walking toward them she then heard Natsu's voice. He seemed to be shouting at someone. She continued onward and eventually spotted Natsu with two other hybrids. She wasn't too sure what he was yelling about but he looked pissed. She moved a bit closer to see if she could hear.

"There's no excuse for skipping out on patrol." He said angrily.

"Come one Natsu it's not like anything EVER happens." One of the hybrids defended.

"Yeah nothing happens around here and it's not like anyone could find this place." The other added.

"NEVER miss patrol again." He glared at them. "We patrol for a reason. There's a reason we've stayed hidden for so long...stayed safe." Natsu stopped upon hearing some noise not far off. He turned to see Lucy and she pauses upon seeing that. She looked away and then turned back in time for him to turn away. "Tch." He returned his glare to the hybrids. "Don't let it happen again."

With that his wings spread out and he took to the sky.

Lucy watched him soar into the sky, his wings already having been summoned. She pouted. Rude. He took off without saying anything. Was it that bad? Was she that bad? She looked down. Of course she was. What else could she be? Why did she think she would be anything but the descendent of the murderers of his people...of his father, in his eyes? She felt a tightening in her chest and closed her eyes tightly. She would never be anything else to him than that. She opened her eyes once again and began to slowly walk off.

"Natsu no baka." She said just barely above a whisper.

She headed back home, or to Natsu's home anyway. Maybe later she would go hang out with some of the others. She and Wendy had become great friends and even Gajeel wasn't that bad anymore. He didn't tease her much like before and she didn't get as many mean looks anymore. She sighed as she continued on her walk. Right now she just wanted to get back to the house. Still, she took the long way, trying to keep her mind occupied.

Finally she wound up back at Natsu's house and as she entered she was met with a surprise. Upon entering she paused, surprised to find Natsu there and sitting in the middle of the room. He sat with legs crossed, facing the door and he had a look of concentration on his face. He looked up at her and her breath caught in her throat. She composed herself and took a deep breath as she closed the front door behind her. Taking a few steps forward she then paused before him. With a sharp breath she said "sorry" and then closed her eyes waiting for a scolding. She waited for his response but none came. Once she opened her eyes again she's kind that he was just staring at her. He had the same look on his face. She bit her lip softly and began to mumble something but was then caught off by a sigh.

"Lucy." He said lowly and her mouth went dry. "That's not it." Well now she was confused. "I'm not mad at you cuz you sneaked in and slept next to me." He said getting up and coming face to face with her. "You're hiding something from me. She opened her mouth to say something but the words wouldn't come and so she just closed it. He moved closer to her so they were only inches apart, she could feel his breath on her face. "You think I don't notice how you wake up panting every night? How you space out during the day? You're hiding something from Luce and I don't like it."

She looked into his eyes, stunned. He had noticed and she didn't know why but she felt relieved...happy. She didn't feel alone. It felt like a weight had been lifted and the pressure in her chest had slightly subsided. But...what could she say about her weird dream? She tried to speak but again her voice failed her and it frustrated her so she looked down. Natsu watched and softly sighed as he saw the defeated look on her face.

"Look...I know I'm no prince charming or whatever but as long as you're here, as long as you're my prisoner I want you to feel safe. So if there's something bothering you I want you to tell me." he told her and with that ended the conversation, walking away.

Lucy stood there with wide eyes watching him walk away. Wait what? She was STILL his prisoner? She sure didn't feel like she was still a prisoner. No one on the island treated her like a prisoner. Yeah they were mean when she had first arrived but it was like she was intruding on them but...then again...and what was that about keeping her safe? Since when did a prisoner HAVE to be kept safe? Not that she had much experience with it. Gosh Natsu and his logic. He made no sense sometimes and it drove Lucy insane. She stood there getting irritated as she her mind raced and tried to make sense of the enigma that was Natsu Dragneel.

 _Screw it_ , Lucy thought. She snuck up behind Natsu as he was opening the door to leave. Placing her hands on his shoulders she stood up on her tiptoes and leaned close to his ear. He was caught by surprise and before he could react she blew air into his ear. What happened next would be forever burned into their memories, a funny one for her and an embarrassing one for him. For being the 'mighty' dragon that he was she never thought she'd see him react the way he did. As soon as she blew into his ear Natsu flinched and shivered as his eyes widened and a shiver ran up his spine and the back of his neck. He stumbled backwards as he turned around to face her, the door being closed shut. He leaned up against the wall staring at her in shock. She smirked and gave him a look as if to say "I knew it". He glared at her, annoyed by the little stunt she had pulled, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. He pouted and was about to say something when she held out a finger at him and explained.

"It was something I found out by accident. Wendy and I were messing around the other day. She was fighting my tickles and I accidentally did that to her." she said as if it were the most logical thing in the world. "So I wondered if this little trick worked on other hybrids too so I thought I'd test it out and looks like I was right."

Lucy smiled and he looked away annoyed, a slight blush on his face. Damn this girl. How did she-Natsu's thoughts were interrupted by Lucy closing the gap between them and repeating her little trick. Natsu jerked away from her, a shiver coursing through him again. He looked over at Lucy who couldn't stop from laughing. First getting slapped twice for no reason and now being taken off guard by this stupid little thing that Lucy discovered. Blowing in his ears? What the hell was that about? Was he some sort of cat? She was gonna get it now...and get it hard.

Lucy looked over at him still laughing and noticed he had an evil smirk on his face. Immediately she became alarmed. This couldn't be good. The next thing she knew she found herself tackled to the ground, Natsu hovering above her. He wore that same dangerous, playful smirk and she felt a shiver run through her body. He used his tail to bind both of her wrists above her head and he slid his hands down her arms and her sides.

"Now for some magic." Natsu smirked and Lucy didn't know what to expect.

"Wha-No! Hahaha." she laughed as he attacked her with tickles. Apparently Lucy was very ticklish, something that made Natsu grins brightly and his revenge ever sweeter. "Stop! Hahaha! NO-Nahahahaha."

"Payback sucks huh Lucy." he smiled as he continued his attack.

"Please no! Hahaha. Nats-ahahaha please stop!" she laughed uncontrollably as she squirmed trying to wriggle herself from him. With her wrists bound she was completely helpless as he sat on her legs.

"If you promise not to do that again and be good from now on maybe I'll stop." he said leaning down, closer to her writhing form.

"Okay! Okay! Hahahaha. I-" she continued squirming and laughing. "Promise! Hahaha! Please stop Nats-ahahaha!"

Eventually Natsu stopped and they both were breathing heavily. Natsu panted slightly as Lucy fought to catch her breath. They both let out small chuckles. Lucy looked up at Natsu, his body still hovering above hers. He unwrapped his tail from her wrists and brought back behind him as she brought her arms down to her sides. He looked down at her as she continued catching her breath, his eyes roaming her body. He suddenly realized the position they were in with him on top of her and… Natsu paused at her chest, mesmerised, and watched as it rose and fell from her heavy breathing. He could hear her breathing as if it were inside his ears and it drove him into a kind of dazed state. Lucy became all too aware of his hands that were resting on her sides and they slowly began to move. She could feel his hands slide up along her sides and then slowly back down, past her waist and along her thighs. He slid them back up and to her waist, sliding his hands along her waist. She gasped softly as he slid them along and up over her stomach, and still higher to her ribcage, he was moving slowly, enjoying the feel of her curves, learning the feel of her body. Her breath hitched slightly as he continued sliding his hands over her and up further past her ribcage. She looked up at him and saw the lust in his half lidded eyes and she felt something stir within her.

 **The Outskirts of Tenrou Island**

"Tsk. we're surrounded." Erza alerted her group.

She drew her sword and looked around, the others following her lead. They had barely gotten to the island and started exploring it and already they had someone or something stalking them. The group all had their backs to each other, forming a circle. The group looked around at the dragons and hybrids that surrounded them. They could probably take a couple of them on but there was no way they'd be able to take all the creatures on.

"Damn it." Gray said.

"Don't lose your focus or you're dead." Laxus warned.

"I know." Gray said annoyed. "Tsk."

Gray thought back to what had led them here. After waking up this morning, he had felt better but not like he was very rested. Erza had essentially made them swim across to the island. Something they weren't keen to do but Erza had said she was counting on them. Not long after they started the swim it was revealed that this was definitely not the best idea. Jellal ended up creating a king barrier under the water allowing the team to move along easier with it. After getting to the island they found themselves at the rocky base of the gigantic tree. Upon finding a series of caves Erza decided they should split up to cover more ground, even if it wasn't a good idea. Thankfully, Jellal spoke up and eventually convinced Erza to keep the group together. It was dangerous to be alone and face who knew what kind of creatures inhabited the island. Each had their own ideas as to which tunnel to take but after they got a smack from Erza they followed her lead.

Once they got out of the tunnel they began to look around until they heard some strange noises. They heard what sounded like flapping sounds, like a bird but louder and stronger. They followed the other sounds they heard as well. What they stumbled upon was unbelievable. They wouldn't have believe it if they hadn't seen it. They saw dragons, real live, full fledged dragons. They were supposed to have gone extinct centuries ago. They sheer surprise had made them drop their guard. A mistake. Before they knew it they were surrounded by the dragons. They formed a defensive circle and drew their weapons. Gray sighed loudly. Of all the crazy situations he'd been in this one took the cake. This was definitely the craziest ever. Who would've thought that _that_ request was real? They had taken it on a whim. Gray and then Laxus and Gildarts smirked, all seemingly thinking the same thing. Erza and Jellal noticed the other three acting strangely but shrugged it off. They had more pressing concerns.

"Intruders." a dragon said menacingly.

"No one just stumbles upon the island. What are you doing here?" another asked.

"Who cares? They dared to trespass on land not theirs. The humans have taken enough, we kill them so they can't tell anyone else what they've found."

"What?" Erza asked for the first time thinking that they could meet their end here and never find Lucy.

"More humans? Ah they're all male." Zirconis complained as he landed amongst the other dragons. "Ah well she's not a male."

"Shush Zirconis." Grandeeney scolded as she landed with the light and shadow dragons.

"Who-" Erza began but Sting landed in front of her and Jellal.

"Well, well look what we have here."

"More humans." Rogue said nonchalantly finishing Sting's sentence.

 _More? Could it be?_ Erza thought to herself and glared at Sting. "What did you do to _her_?"

"Her?" Sting asked crossing his arms and tilting his head. "Ah yeah, her. You must be talking about that busty blonde ya?" he stepped closer to Erza, her glare intensifying, and he smirked. "Who knows?" he whispered, his smirk widening.

Erza swung her sword at Sting and he dodged it easily. He chuckled softly as she tried again and he easily moved out of the way of the blade. Erza cursed as he laughed, shouting, asking what they did with the princess. Rogue suddenly materialized behind her ready to attack but Jellal turned to swing his sword and defend her. Rogue was forced to take a couple steps back as Jellal swung his sword in warning.

"Gihi, who would've thought bunny girl would bring more scum to our nest?" Gajeel smirked.

"So she is here?" Laxus asked with a smirk. "Well, that makes our search easier." he raised a fist in the air and sparks could be seen forming around him. "I've always wanted to fight a dragon." he said in a challenging voice, lightning now encompassing him and Gray and Gildarts sighed.

"I guess in the end it comes to this...a brawl." Gray said as he threw his sword down. "Ice Make: Ice Hammer!" he said as he brought his hands together, creating a hammer made of ice.

"Heh." Gildarts smiled as he followed suit in getting rid of his sword. Before the others could register he had brought his fist down to the ground. "This will be interesting." Gray and Laxus eyes widened at the action.

"Oi old man…"  
"Don't you dare…"

"Shit, move out!" Gray shouted before Gildarts magic activated.

Everyone was startled when the ground was blown into hundreds of small cubes. The Hybrids dodged the attack while the dragons flew up, clearing the ground. Meanwhile, Gray and the others had moved out of range of the attack.

"Tch. Man he always likes to go in flashy without even thinking." Gray said looking back over at Gildarts who was sitting in the same spot with a smirk on his face. Erza and Jellal's eyes were wide. It couldn't be...they had used magic?

"You...what did you do?" Erza demanded, still stunned. Sure they had been part of her knights for six months but they had never used magic in that time. As far as she knew only she and Jellal were magic users in Lucy's kingdom. "What the hell?!"

"We'll talk later." Gray said pointing a finger at her. "Right now we need to fight."

"Heh, who knew humans could still use magic." Zirconis smirked. "This could be interesting."

"It seems some of our teachings…" the white dragon began.

"Have been passed down." the shadow dragon concluded.

"But to have so many magic users gathered in one spot is a rare spectacle." one of the dragons said.

"Well, at least the kids can get some practice in." another smirked and the hybrids grinned getting all worked up. To be able to battle a magic wielding human was rare.

"Heh, I'm taking the lightning dude." Gajeel grinned as he charged Laxus. "Metal and lightning...this could be some good practice."

"Dibs on the woman.' Sting called out following suit.

"Guess I'll take the blue one." Rogues said as he moved for Jellal.

The dragons landed around the groups, watching as the hybrids began to battle the intruders. They smiled as they watched their hybrids fight efficiently thought the humans had skill themselves. It was surprising to the dragons but knew that in the end the hybrids would win out. It was intense battle to be sure but for the first time in centuries they seemed to be truly enjoying themselves. They weren't driven by hatred. Grandeeney smirked at the sight. It had to have been Lucy's influence.

"What's wrong Grandeeney?" the light dragon asked.

"Nothing, really. It's just nice to see them playing and having fun." she said and the light dragon looked out and nodded. He noticed what she did. The hybrids weren't going for the kill. They were fighting with skill and were enjoying the excitement. They were having fun.

"This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This bad. Bad bad bad." Happy repeated frantically in his head as he flew to Natsu's house. "NAAAAAATTTTTSSSSUUUUUUU!" He shouted getting closer and entering the window. "Naaaa-" he paused in mid air. "-tsu?"

In front of Happy lay a beat down Natsu, lying know his back. He fought to catch his breath as he looked over at a beat down Lucy. She looked back at him as she layed on her stomach, fighting to catch her breath also.

"Y-you give up?" She asked between breaths.

"H-hell no." He breathed out as he pushed up on his elbows and she began to slowly crawl. "I-I won."

"N-no way." She huffed as they made eye contact looking annoyed at each other.

-EARLIER-

Lucy looked up at Natsu and she shivered slightly as his hands moved over her slowly. His look of lust, his lidded eyes, made Lucy want. She craved him as she never had anyone. So many mixed emotions ran through her. He moved his hands up past her ribs and higher still. He was about to reach her her breasts. Her breasts that rose and fell with every breath. He continued in his dazed state when he stopped. As he had slid his hands up, Lucy who was still sensitive to being tickled reacted. As his hands had moved up she jerked, her knee rising and hitting his groin. Natsu and Lucy both froze, though for different reasons. He collapsed in the ground next to her, holding his hands between his legs. Lucy realized and she did and scrambled up.

"Natsu I'm sorry!" She said moving next to him and looking at his writhing form.

"Why you little…" He groaned softly and Lucy couldn't help but chuckle.

"You did kind of deserve it." She smiled.

"What?!" He said managing to move after a bit. "You'll pay for that." He said getting up and managing to tackle her.

-PRESENT-

A true tickle fight had broken out between them and now they had both laid there in floor panting and unmoving. Natsu had propped himself up on his elbows and glared over at Lucy. She returned the glare, albeit more playful than anything else, as she laid in her stomach and slowly moved toward him.

"What the heck is going on here?!" Happy asked bewildered by what he had stumbled upon. They both turned to Happy, realizing for the first time that they were no longer alone.

"Well I obviously won duh." Natsu said sitting up.

"What?! No you didn't!" Lucy objected as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"What?" Happy asked confused but then remembered why he had come. "Ah yeah Natsu! We don't have time for this!"

"Huh?" Natsu asked annoyed as he looked at Happy.

"Humans are here!" Happy told him and his eyes widened as he quickly stood up. "More humans showed up and they're fighting the hybrids! You gotta come!"

Lucy got up also and was shocked at the news. More humans? Why? How? Could it be that they came for her? But...she didn't want anyone to come looking for her, much less take her back. No, no, no this wasn't happening. But if it was Erza and Jellal that came...that could be dangerous and if what Happy was saying was true. Lucy a tightness in her and she became worried. She knew how powerful the hybrids were.

"Natsu…" She said softly as he rushed for the door, summoning his wings. "Wait!" She called out and he and Happy turned around slightly. "I'm coming too!" she announced almost pleading.

"No you're not. You're staying put." He said lowly. "Take care of her Happy."

With that Natsu turned back around walked out immediately taking to the sky. She ran to the door and watched him fly off quickly. She bit her lower lip as she watched. No way was she staying here. She took off running in the direction he flew with Happy in tow, calling after her.

Natsu flew as fast and hard as he could toward where the battle was taking place. How did humans get here? It should've been impossible. Sure Lucy was here but he had brought her. These humans managed to navigate the caves and find the island without a guide. They shouldn't have been able to with the magic barrier in place. Only dragons and hybrids and those they brought could come in. No way should just a random human be able to gain entrance. So why? The questions races through his mind. He could hear the sounds of battle and he prayed that he wasn't too late. Finally he reached the scene and he looked down to see the battle that was taking place. What he saw shouldn't have been possible. The humans were fighting the hybrids with magic, repelling the hybrids magic attacks with their own. No way. Natsu tsk'd at the scene.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, his voice echoing through the woods. The fighting stopped and all looked up to see Natsu hovering in the sky, his arms crossed and looking down on them with a serious look.


	13. Chapter 13

**Finally a new chapter and our longest one yet! Hope you enjoy the continuation of our fic and please remember to review and let us know what you think and how you liked it (or didn't). Hey help us out and recommend our fics if you like them to your friends too!**

 **Some (not all) reviews/comments from the last chapter that we liked:**

 _ **Monika-Ohhh! I loved this! I was waiting for something to happen between Natsu and Lucy already. But well! Guess it is still too soon! Love the development**_

 _ **An Amber Pen-Oh dear, it looks like they've got bigger problems than just a few magic-using humans. If the barrier is down or malfunctioning, then what else is going wrong? Please keep writing!**_

 _ **thedeathwidow-This is so exciting! Oh I so can't wait to see what happens next! Will friendship accrue between the intruders and hybrid/ dragons or war! Oh I so can't wait! I'm dying of the need to know!Hahaha haha!**_

 **All You guys! Keep it up! Love reading your comments. Oh and uh lemon warning for this chapter! Now go forth and enjoy!**

* * *

Everyone looked up to where Natsu was hovering and in the blink of an eye he landed with a loud thud before them. Erza and the others held up a hand to shield them from the strong gust of wind that come from where he landed, the ground beneath his feet cracked and buckled. They looked at the figure before him and noted his draconic features and realized he had to have been a hybrid like the others. The horns, the scaled skin and finally the wings which he had made a show of spreading so he looked even more imposing. The wings came down and suddenly vanished as he glared at the intruders. He then turned his slightly to look at the hybrids and dragons. The hybrids seemed to stand down with just that look. They realized he had to be someone important for them to react the way they did with his arrival.

"Natsu-san!" Sting called to him.

"Tch Salamander is always ruining the fun." Gajeel said annoyed.

"I demand an explanation." Natsu said eyeing them. "What the hell is going on? And how did _you-_ " Natsu said turning his glare back on the invading humans. "-get here? You're not supposed to be here." he said dangerously.

"Heh, well we fell through the rabbit hole and ended up in Wonderland." Gray mocked and Natsu focused his glare on his punk ass. Gray glared back and they seemed to enter into a glaring contest. Erza got annoyed, she needed her questions answered.

"What did you do with the princess?" she demanded and Natsu smirked turning his attention on her.

"Who knows?"

Why you…" Erza cursed him as she pointed her sword at him. "Hand her over."

"No way girlie. She's mine." he glared at her and Erza stepped toward him but Jellal grabbed her gently to stop her advance.

"So I take it you're the boss around here or something?" Gray asked with a smirk as he stepped in front of Erza.

"And? So what if I am?" Natsu asked without a care.

"Heh, then it means you've gotta be pretty tough yourself." Gray said challengingly as he brought his hands up, ice beginning to form around them.

"Ho ice magic. Heh you're fresh out of luck." Natsu smiled as he lifted his fist and lit it on fire.

"I'm always looking for a challenge." Gray smirked as he charged Natsu. "Ice make: Battle axe!" Gray called out and shot a blast of ice towards Natsu.

"Please, as if your ice can touch me." Natsu said unbothered and with a wave of his fiery fist dissipated the ice.

Gray shot a few more blasts of ice at Natsu but he merely stood there swatting away the attacks with his fire. Gray growled with frustration and rushed toward Natsu. Natsu smirked and easily blocked Gray's swing. He threw a few more punches but Natsu either dodged them or blocked them with his arms. It annoyed Gray how nonchalantly Natsu seemed to handle the attacks. He lunged at Natsu but he merely side stepped and managed to smack Gray with his tail angering him more. Gray made sharp ice blades extend from his arms and Natsu lit his fists on fire. Natsu chuckled softly as Gray attacked him again but harder. Natsu's grin widened as Gray fought better. Natsu went from blocking to also attacking, lightly, so that now they were sparing. Gray swiped his leg but Natsu jumped up and kicked Gray back.

"Heh not bad for an ice freak."

"Same goes for you flame brain."

"Still have a long way to go though, freezer burn." Natsu frowned at him.

"Pffh I was holding back you pyro! If anyone needs to learn how to fight it's you!"

"Please, I could tell you were giving it your all ice princess. I on the other hand was just toying with you."

"What did you call me?!" Gray asked getting in Natsu's face.

"You heard me popsicle breath." Natsu said hitting his head against Gray's.

Everyone watched in disbelief as they're fight turned into a never ending insult battle. Erza's patience grew thinner and thinner. She couldn't take anymore of this nonsense and finally snapped. It was just too much. First, finding a secret island inhabited by dragons and some kind of dragon hybrids. Second, she found out that Gray and the others used magic and finally, she still hadn't had her damn question answered. She shook herself from Jellal's grasp and headed toward the two idiots. She walked up to them and grabbed them by the ears roughly. Before they could register what was happening she pulled them apart and then slammed their heads against each other. She shoved them to the ground while everyone, both humans and dragons alike looked on stunned. The two boys glared at her wondering what had gotten into her.

"I still didn't get my question answered." she glared at them.

"Like that's my fault." Gray muttered as Natsu stood up.

"Hoh so that's how you want it to be." Natsu said in a dark voice as he turned his full attention on her.

"Uh-oh." Jellal muttered and the other humans agreed as Erza pointed her sword at Natsu and stared him down.

"Please. You humans always thinking you're the best. Always making others bend to your will. Well you don't call the shots here." Natsu smirked as he punched the palm of his hand, ready to fight again. "You're out of your depth human. You can't take me on."

"A lot of talk. Shut up and fight!" Erza had had enough.

She swung her sword at Natsu and almost as he did with Gray he dodged her attacks. She swung the sword more fiercely and he managed to smack the blade away from him with ease. Erza growled softly and swung harder making Natsu take a couple of steps back. He leapt back several fight and prepared a breath attack. Erza was caught off guard by the sudden distance put between them and before she knew it a powerful stream of fire was headed for her. Natsu postulated himself as he watched the flames engulf her and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Not long after Erza stepped out from the flames much to the surprise of Natsu and the others. His eyes widened, nothing had survived his flames before. He growled as he noticed her armor had changed.

"Fire empress armor." Gray smirked. "You're screwed now."

Natsu was confused. He'd never seen magic like this before. He was mostly familiar with nature magic, what the dragons had passed down to them. This magic was different. It was something else. It made no sense, how did she do it? What magic was this? He didn't like it.

Before he could break free from his thoughts and questions, Erza was already on top of it. He didn't have anytime to react before she attacked him fiercely and he was sent flying back into a nearby tree. He fell to the ground, his body twitching as he layed there knocked out.

"Hmph. serves him right." she said reverting back to her original armor.

"That idiot." Gajeel huffed.

"N-Natsu-san…" Sting sighed.

"He let his guard down." Rogue said as Zirconis began to laugh and some of the other dragons glared at him.

"Waaaaiiiiiiitttttt!" a feminine voice called out from a distance.

Everyone looked around as they voice got louder and continued to yell out. Soon Luy came into view with Wendy and Charla in tow. They ran as fast as they could to the group, all eyes turning on them. Erza and Jellal looked on in surprise and Grandeeney merely smiled. The two girls got closer and closer with Charla flying on ahead of them now.

"Everyone please stop!" Wendy called out as they reached the group. The girls fought to catch their breath. Erza felt many emotions. She surprised, happy and annoyed all at the same time. She stared at Lucy and Lucy felt shivers course through her and not the kind Natsu gave her.

"Please don't do this!" Lucy said stepping between the two groups. "Please don't hurt my friends. They're important to me." She said to the hybrids and dragons.

"Gihi they started it first bunny girl." Gajeel smiled. Lucy was about to say something else when she spotted Natsu a bit away and on the ground.

"Natsu!" she calls out in horror as she rushes to his side. "Natsu." she says softly as she kneels down next to the fallen hybrid and gently touched his cheek. She turns to look at Erza who had neared her with surprise. "Please don't hurt him." she begged. "Please don't hurt them." Erza was about to something but saw that Lucy was genuinely concerned about them which confused her even more."Lucy, where have you been?" Erza asked. "You run away...to this...place. An island with dragons? And now you're defending them. Tell me what's going on."

"I'll answer all your questions just stop fighting." Lucy pleaded and turned to the dragons. "You too."

The dragons watched on in curiosity, studying the situation so as to see how this would play out. The hybrids looked at each other as if trying to communicate what their next move should be but Gajeel finally broke the silence "Ah I got to have some fun so fine. Getting hungry anyway" he said yawning as he began retreating into the woods. "I'll be looking forward to a rematch though lightning bug." Rogue disappeared without a word, merely a nod to Lucy.

Sting stepped forward and looked at Natsu and then Lucy. "Thanks Lucy.' he smiled and then disappeared as some of the dragons also began to disperse. Erza and her group looked on in surprise as as they seemingly listened to Lucy.

"I'll take him." Atlas Flame said approaching Natsu and Lucy and grabbing Natsu. "He may be the ki-leader but he's gotta learn not to let his guard down again."

"Thanks Atlas." she says softly as he flies off with Natsu. She only hopes that he's not too hard on Natsu.

Poor Natsu...which reminded Lucy of poor Happy. To get away and get here she had ended up pushing him into a corner with Natsu's dirty clothes. The smell overwhelmed him and she left Happy there knocked out on the floor. She wasn't sure if Happy had heard her 'sorry' as she rushed out of the house, Happy's wings and tail twitching, mumbling something about her being cruel. She needed to apologize to him next chance she got but right now she had more important matters to deal with. Lucy turned to Erza getting ready for one of her scolding's.

"Uh, why don't you guys come back to our place?" Wendy spoke up. Neither she, Grandeeney or Carla had left with the others.

"What?" Erza asked a bit surprised.

"You're probably tired from the trip, and fighting." Wendy replied.

"You can rest up and speak with each other without concern there." Grandeeney explained. "We can also provide sustenance."

"Really?" Lucy asked them. "That'd be great thank you."

"Lucy…" Erza said softly turning to the princess.

"It's okay. You can trust them." She said looking at her knight. "The dragons won't hurt you." Erza looked searched into Lucy's eyes for any signs of manipulation or fear or uneasiness. For all she knew they could control her, but all she could find with Lucy was determination and trust towards the dragons.

"Very well then." she sighed after a moment and sheathed her sword.

The group began walking, with Jellal bringing up the back, following Wendy and the white dragon. Erza still wasn't sure what to make of everything. She had a hundred questions and multiple matters to deal with. First things first though she had to figure out the situation here and find a way to get Lucy back home. After all she wasn't leaving without her. How did Lucy even end up here? It didn't seem too much like she was prisoner and if that was the case then why was she here? Despite being told they'd be protected she couldn't help but keep an eye on their surroundings and on the big white dragon. Lucy noticed Erza's apprehension and hoped she would ease up. Really she was happy the fighting had stopped. Now they could go and rest at Wendy's and talk.

* * *

An hour of hell. That's what Lucy endured. Talk? Yeah right. It had been not just a mere conversation. Lucy barely made it out of Erza's scolding and questioning. It was an interrogation...no...it was worse than that. Lucy had gotten out with 0 stamina left in her. After what felt like forever, Erza finally looked like she was satisfied with Lucy's answers and her explanation of what happened. Satisfied though not necessarily agreeable with what took place. Lucy slumped in her seat as Erza then turned to her three traveling companions. She was far from done. Lucy walked out of the room that she was in with Jellal and Erza, with the redhead following behind her. Erza glared at the three men sitting on the couch in the living room.

"You three. Get in here." She commanded and turned to walk back in the room.

"Let's just try to make this quick." Jellal said. They were both tired and instead of questioning them separately they were gonna ask them all at once.

"We'll take as long as we need. We need to find out who they are and why they lied to us." Erza said as the three men walked in. The two knights glared at the members of their small team.

"Tch. I guess it can't be helped." Laxus muttered. "We did find the dragons so might as well spill."

"Well, that's not a good idea." Gray said crossing his arms. "Gramps is gonna be pissed."

"It doesn't matter. It's not like we can escape this place anytime soon though." Gildarts added.

"Enough." Erza said firmly and clearly annoyed. "Explain."

"We're part of a traveling magic guild called Fairy Tail.." Gildarts revealed. The three mages brought their hands to different point of their body and there was a small flash as their guild marks suddenly appeared on their skin. Gray had lifted his shirt and touched his fingers to the right side of his chest revealing the blue mark. Gildarts did the same but his mark was bigger and on the left side of his body. Erza and Jellal continued to watch as they undid the spell hiding their marks as Laxus also brought his hand to the right side of his torso and the guild mark appeared low on him.

"Fairy Tail?" Jellal asked in surprise.

"A magic guild? But those are rare." Erza added with her own surprise. "Kingdoms hunted down most all of the guilds in hopes to recruit mages into their armies. It surprising that yours has survived for so long. Why are here? What are you trying to accomplish? Why join up with my knights?"

"It was the easiest way to acquire information." Laxus said.

"Information on what? So you can assassinate the king?!" she asked drawing her sword and pointing it at them.

"Whoa! Cool your jets!" Gray said raising his arms as Laxus swatted the blade away.

"On dragons." Laxus said with a mysterious smirk.

"Why would a traveling magic guild be interested in dragons?" Jellal asked. "How do you even know of their existence in this era? And now that you've found them...what now?"

"That...is confidential." Gildarts said receiving him glares from the two knights. "You can gut us and cut off our heads...if you can...but we're not saying anything else about our mission."

"Look our mission specifics aside, I can promise you that we're not looking to overthrow your kingdom or looking to gain any power." Gray said trying to assure them.

Erza looked at Gray saw the honesty and his eyes and knew he wasn't lying. She didn't know why else but she knew she could trust what he said. It had been a long day and she had had enough. She and the others walked out and exited the house coming out to the small village they were in. Small houses surrounded a clearing making up the village. What seemed like a wooden pyre was in the center and the forest surrounded the village on all sides. Erza looked around and saw hybrids and dragons going about their lives doing...whatever it was that they did. She still couldn't believe dragons still existed and that a magic guild had infiltrated the kingdoms army. The questions still swam until she sighed heavily. She needed rest. It was way too much information to take in at once.

Lucy had gone back to Natsu's against Erza's wishes but there wasn't much she could do in the end. She hadn't been hurt so far so she figured Lucy would be okay one more night. Lucy on the other hand had to repeatedly apologize to Happy and spent the rest of the day working for his forgiveness. Eventually he did forgive her and as it got later they decided to make dinner. After waiting for close to an hour for Natsu to return, Lucy finally ate. She wondered where he was and what he was doing. Before long she had to go to sleep but Natsu still hadn't come home which worried her. There was nothing she could do about it now though.

Lucy woke up the next day feeling not very rested but enough to be able to function. She looked over at Natsu's spot on the floor and found it empty. He hadn't come home at all. She frowned and felt a tightness in her chest. Why? Lucy sighed softly and got out of bed, opting to skip out on breakfast. After getting ready she made her way to Wendy's where Erza immediately caught sight of her.

"Good morning Lucy. Are you ready?" Erza asked leaving Lucy even more worried. "We're leaving. I'll deal with those three when we get back." She said referring to Gray and the others.

"What? No I can't go back." Lucy said backing away from Erza.

"You are the princess. You're why we're here. You have to go back." Erza said grabbing her arm but Lucy tried to pull away.

"No! Erza I'm not going back!"

"You're father is waiting. You must!" Erza struggled with her. "You're wedding is in just a few weeks."

"No!"

"She ain't going anywhere red." Gajeel said stepping up and pulling Erza's hand from Lucy.

"Natsu-san won't be pleased." Sting said in the most serious voice Lucy had ever heard from him.

Rogue appeared next to Sting looking ready to fight which made Erza go on alert. She moved her hand to her sword and Jellal rushed to her side. Lucy panicked and moved in between Gajeel and Erza stretching out her arms to keep them apart. Just as she was about to say something Gajeel spoke.

"Besides if you take her, if you can get past us, you still won't make it out of the caves."

Jellal placed a hand on Erza's shoulder trying to calm her. "He's right. Without them who knows how long we'll be lost in there. We can't afford to lose time wandering around. We'll need an escort. We can't risk the princess's safety like that." the hybrids smirked as if to agree with what the blue haired knight was saying. Thought they had no intention of letting them have Lucy.

Erza sighed in frustration as she stood down. "So now you're saying we're stuck here?!"

"It's gonna be okay Erza. Please don't be mad." Lucy said softly. "If you stay for a few days and give them a chance I think you'll really like my new friends." Erza looked at her surprised by the comment and exhaled.

"Fine." she gave in remembering how Wendy and the white dragon fed them and gave them shelter.

"Thanks Erza." Lucy nodded with a smile and then turned to Gajeel and the others. "We'll stay a few more days but after that I expect an escort out of here." she still doubted that they would escort her out but maybe she could talk to Natsu and get him to lead them out. Natsu...he was still nowhere to be found. The group had dispersed but kept somewhat close to each other oddly. It was as if both sides were trying to keep an eye on each other. She looked around and finally walked over toward Sting and the others. "Hey, uh guys? Have you seen Natsu?"

"Huh? Natsu-san?" Sting asked as he crossed his arms and thought about. "He didn't go home?"

"No, and I'm worried."

"Ah well I guess that makes sense. He's probably trying to make sense of all this. So he's probably down there."

"Down?" Lucy asked quizzically. "Wait, make sense of what?"

"You know, of y-ow!" he winced as Gajeel smacked his head.

"Shut yer trap." he huffed. "Let those two idiots figure it out themselves."

"At the base of the tree there's rocky ground and entrances to various caves and tunnels." Rogue explained, pointing and Lucy's gaze followed.

"Yeah, it's like a maze to get through there." Gray says hearing them talk. "We ran across it before we got here."

"You're lucky. Those tunnels aren't easy to navigate." Rogues said almost as a warning."Natsu is probably at the base of the tree. There's a cave there he goes to when he need to meditate or train...or when he gets lectured but that's probably over." Lucy remembered seeing a tunnel like that but it didn't lead her to the base of the tree it led her to the cave with the orb in it.

"Sometimes Salamander likes to be alone." Gajeel shrugged.

"So...he's okay then." she was a bit relieved though not entirely. "I was worried. I want to help. Why would he need to meditate or be alone?"

"We're hybrids...dragons. You're humans. Here." Rogue said simply. "Humans have never been here. Not since...It doesn't matter. How could you help anyway?"

"I…" she began but faltered.

"I'm not trying to be rude, I'm trying to help you understand." Rogue explained. "Do you know what it's like? To almost lose everything...To be treated as an outsider? You're a princess. I'm not saying life is perfect but you've only been alive for 18 years." Rogue said, now gathering the attention of the other humans. "We age slower. We've lost more. Tell me Lucy, did you know of all of us Natsu hates humans the most? And then he found you, a human. And now you're friends are here on sacred ground."

"Rogue." Sting said softly but they allowed him to continue.

"Lucy, do you know what it's like to feel loss? Not just in body and spirit but deep in you?" he asked her and she stood there silently. "Do you know what it's like to feel that, to be angry...in your bones? To feel helpless?"

"Enough Rogue." Gajeel said. "Salamander won't be happy." Rogue looked at him and gave a small nod before turning back to Lucy.

"If you can comprehend that just a little, not even feel it but comprehend it, then maybe...maybe you could help Natsu." Rogue said. "And you wonder why he need to be alone." Lucy looked down and balled her fists, a tight knot in her chest threatening to suffocate her. His words weighed heavy on her. How could she...It didn't matter, she had to. She had to find a way past the unbearable pain that he must be in.

"Where is the closest tunnel to get to Natsu?" she asked looking up, her eyes stinging. Rogue pointed behind her and to the right and she immediately took of running.

"Good luck. I'm rooting for you Lucy." Rogue said more to himself than anyone else.

Lucy ran as fast and as hard as she could. Rogue's words rang through her ears. Thoughts of Natsu and the things she had been told about him played in her mind. She knew he had an aversion toward humans but...no it was much more than an aversion. The things Natsu felt, not just about humans, but all of the dark and weighing things he felt were feelings that went deeper than she could've even fathomed. Rogue was right. What did she know? It didn't matter. She wasn't going to let that stop her. She wanted to get through to him. She _needed_ him to...what? Why was she so fixated on him? On what he felt? On who or how he was? It saddened her to know that her family had been involved and been part of the dragon's near extinction but to now know what she did about Natsu. It pained her to her very core. It made her hurt in a way she hadn't before and she began to wonder if this was a tiny fraction of things that Natsu felt. If it was, then she wanted nothing more than to find him and throw her arms around him and hold him.

She finally spotted sight of a tunnel and ran toward it, finally slowing as she reached the rocky area that Gray and Rogue must've been talking about. Lucy ran through one of the tunnels and finally reached the end of it. She fought to catch her breath as she looked at the surrounding area. Large lumps of earth and rock protruded from below the tree trunk and its massive roots. She walked along seeing many tunnel entrances and noticed that the rock formations and island created a kind of clearing in the center of the area.

"Natsu!" she called out his name a few times as she searched for him.

She looks around and calls for him again but nothing. As she continues walking she starts to hear some noise, punching sounds maybe, and starts to follow the sound. Finally she spots Natsu, seeing him punching a rocky surface. She saw the damage done to the area around him. The hits were hard and the damage was heavy. They looked like came from much more than just casual training. Lucy's eye lids lowered in thought as she looked back at him. She began to make her way to him a bit slowly and cautiously. She whispered his name as she neared him but Natsu was focused on the rock formation, various thoughts and memories flashing through his mind. Lucy came to mind the most at the moment.

" _I just wanted to say I'm sorry for causing you trouble with the other dragons and I wanted to say thank you for protecting me."_

Natsu kicked at the rock formation as the different scenes played in his head. The rocky surface cracked and gave way as he beat on it.

" _I don't know what happened between dragons and humans or why the war was started but I'll find out. I'll learn more about the dragons. Whenever I visited other countries they always said dragons were barbaric and violent and dangerous…" she said closing her eyes. "I refused to believe that." she opened her eyes again, her emotions coming back and she looked at them and with all honesty and sincerity said: "My mom taught me that dragons were proud, graceful and powerful creatures. And in my experience that's the truth." Lucy smiles stubbornly at the group, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm going to learn the truth about the war and about dragons so that one day I can wash my family's name of what they did. And I'll bring the dragons back out into the world so they can live peacefully amongst humans again."_

Natsu unleashed another volley of attacks, punching at the rock surface. He lit his fists on fire and yelled out as he continued his attacks as the scenes continued flashing in his mind.

" _...but I don't know anything about you."_

" _I'm sorry." she said softly. "I'm sorry for asking something that's painful and I know it's none of my business and I know you hate me and I...just...but I…"_

His hard expression wavered slightly as he kicked at a fresh surface, cracking it as he thought back to their flight with Atlas.

" _...thank you again for today. I want to go on more adventures in the future."_

His thoughts drifted to her and her body and he felt a different kind of fire beginning to burn inside of him.

Lucy watched as Natsu repeatedly punched at the rock, his flames extinguishing. Her eyes fell on his sweaty, half naked form. His skin glistened in the sun and she noticed that he had a few scratches and she caught traces of dried blood. She watched as his muscles flexed and his taut skin moved as he continued his attacks, his fists seemingly covered in blood. Drips of sweat cascaded down his body and his hair, heavy with sweat lay flat creating bangs that came down across his face. Lucy unconsciously licked her lips. The light from the setting sun reflected on his tanned skin. His skin seemed like it was smooth despite the fact that he seemed to train and brawl so hard. She studied his ripped body and wondered what it felt like against her. She wanted to know what he felt like to feel his skin under her hands, to feel him hovering above her.

Lucy swallowed hard as she continued to take in his form. In the state he was in he looked hard to approach yet she craved him. He suddenly stopped and turned to look at her. She gasped softly and her heart sped up as he did so. There was a kind of danger in his eyes, the way he looked at her but it shifted as soon as he realized it was her. She began to see traces of desire in his eyes and it made her curious. He breathed heavily as he looked at her from his heavy workout.

"Lucy." he said huskily as he began walking toward her.

She watched unmoving as he closed the gap between them, for some reason wanting it. He didn't stop until he was directly in front of her, the faces just inches apart. She could feel his breath on her lips as he looked down at her. Holding herself back, she managed to look up at him with her brown eyes and stare at him. She was still dizzy from his appearance and felt a need begin to bubble forth within her. They stood there staring into each other's eyes. There was a tension there that strained hard. They fought to move but didn't. Whether because they were afraid or simply didn't know what to do was unclear.

"What are you doing here? I don't like being disturbed when meditating." he said lowly, dangerously.

"I..I-" she wanted to say something but she couldn't help notice how his face inched closer and closer.

He looked at her and his eyes fell on her soft, pink lips, a desire showing in them. She became aware of this and unconsciously licked her lips making him want to know how she tasted. Without fully realizing it he lifted his right hand and brought it to her lips, brushing his thumb against them. She breathed out as he slid his thumb across her lips and brought up his other fingers to graze them. Lucy looked into his eyes as she slightly parted her lips and took the tip of one of his fingers in her mouth. He gasped softly as the tip of her tongue brushed against his finger. Before she knew it he had grabbed a hold of her and pushed her roughly against the wall eliciting a yelp from her.

"Luce." he softly groaned. "You shouldn't be here right now...I don't think I can…" he paused and began to sniff at the air.

He had picked up a hint of something new, something he found he liked. He inhaled deeply and reveled in the scent. He wasn't mistaken, he didn't know how, but he knew exactly what that scent was. It was her. It was Lucy and it wasn't her usual natural scent. His stomach clenched and his muscles went taut with self restrain. She was aroused and that intoxicating scent hit him hard. He thought he loved the smell of her already but this...this was his new favorite scent. It drove him crazy. Lucy shifted slightly and looked at him as he ground his teeth and leaned his head against hers. His heavy breathing not lost on her.

"Luce...you…" he muttered through a partial groan.

She had no words but she did know one thing. She wanted him. She looked into his eyes with all the want and need she could show. His eyes darkened with lust and became half lidded as his eyes looked more like snake eyes. The narrowed slits had a tint of gold and ember and she knew they were predatory eyes, hunting eyes.

N-Nats-"

Before she could say a word he pressed his lips against hers making her gasp and her eyes widen. She pushed back against his lips returning the kiss as he pressed his body up against hers, closing the remaining distance between them. They kissed each other incessantly their lips capturing each other and tugging at each other. He slipped his left hand behind her neck tilting her head up so he could deepen the kiss as he slid his other hand down her body to her waist. Lucy slid her hands along his bare chest and she could feel heat radiating off of him but it didn't burn her. She lightly clawed at his chest as he deepened the kiss and she let out a soft moan. Natsu felt her begin to trace small patterns on his chest with her fingers and that only drove him crazier. She didn't at all seem to mind the sweat and dirt that was on him. He growled and moved his hand around from her waist to her bottom, gripping it tightly. Her lips parted in a moan and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside her warm mouth. She moaned as they kissed passionately and her lips sealed around his tongue and she enjoyed the feel of her own sliding against his. He gasped softly as his left hand came down and gripped her thigh and then lifted her slightly. She immediately wrapped her legs around him and he pushed harder against her making her moan again. She snaked her hands around his neck and pulled him closer as she felt her arousal grow. Their tongues battled for dominance and the sounds coming from her were music to his ears as they continued passionately making out. She slid his hands up to his hair and pulled on his locks as he pushed his hips up against hers and she moaned. He did it again and this time he moaned with her as his tongue slid against hers aggressively as they continued their quarrel. He wanted nothing more than to strip off her clothes here and now and she ached for the feel of his lips on her body.

The moment didn't last as a snickering sound came from up above. Natsu broke this kiss, annoyed and looked up at a hovering Happy who had both paws covering his mouth. Happy fought to not tease them as Lucy was still in her dazed stated and despite Natsu being annoyed he was still pressed up against Lucy. He went out looking for them since they had both been gone for awhile but he didn't think this was the reason why. Natsu frowned, mad that they were interrupted and Lucy snapped back and blushed in embarrassment because of the state they were. She unwrapped her legs from around him and Natsu took a small step back.

"Soorrryyy guys." Happy smirked though they knew he wasn't.

Natsu pulled away from her and summoned his wings. Lucy diverted her attention back to him and watched as he flew up a few feet as she whispered a 'wait'. It was then that she realized how late it was getting, practically dark. Natsu and Happy would head home and she'd be left here with whatever wild animals came out. She didn't want to be left alone even if it maybe wasn't that dangerous after all. Natsu clenched his fists at he looked down at her and mumbled a 'sorry'. He looked at Happy and Happy nodded in understanding. Natsu took off as Happy came down and picked Lucy up. She felt a stabbing in her heart as Natsu left. Why did he go? What was wrong? Was he disgusted? Did he regret that they kissed, because she didn't. Her eyes stung again and a tear fell as her mind raced trying to comprehend the seeming rejection. Why did she feel this way? Why did she kiss him? What she did with him...what she thought of doing with him. She had never kissed anyone before let alone passionately like that. Why did he reject her?

"Don't worry about it Lucy." Happy said trying to comfort her as her tears fell. "That kind of thing is new for Natsu so he's probably just confused. He used to hate humans a lot and now he's making out with one so his mind probably exploded. Everything's gonna be okay Lucy." he said with a smile. "Aye." she smiled softly as she wiped away her tears. She couldn't let this get her down.

 **The Village**

Erza eyed the village, watching the dragons and the hybrids. She studied their features, their behaviour, she took it all in. Still, after all this she couldn't believe that they still existed. She looked on in amazement as she studied for all intents and purposes a supposedly extinct civilization. Grandeeney looked over at the redheaded knight and could see the fascination on her face. She also sensed that she had many questions.

"Humans didn't kill us back then." Grandeeney said as she approached her and Erza looked up at the white dragon.

"But, if that's true then…" Erza began as she placed two of her fingers on her chin, thinking. "How come we haven't seen you for centuries. . I mean you're bound to want some fresh air now and then. That _is_ how we found you. We saw a dragon. Well, at the time we thought it was an oddly large bird but we followed it here. If that happens then it'd be kind of impossible for humans not to find this place for such a long period."

"That case was an exception." Zirconis smirked "We don't usually go out. That was lover boy trying to show off to his women." he chuckled and Grandeeney rolled her eyes.

"As this buffoon said we don't usually go outside. We also have a strong barrier surrounding this place that makes it impossible for outsiders to come through. It only affects those without dragon blood so there's no way for someone from the outside to find this place."

"Which reminds me...How did you squirts find us?" Zirconis asked mischievously.

"Barrier?" Erza said in contemplation. It was true they had wasted two days in the caves when it should've only taken them a few hours, she assumed. She shook her head. "I don't know. We spent two days in the caves and then we saw a light suddenly. We followed it and it led us outside, here."

"That's impossible. No human can see the light from the tunnel." Sting said and then paused. "Unless…"

"Unless the barrier is weakening." Rogue said deep in thought.

"That's impossible." Zirconis laughed at the thought of the barrier weakening. However, they were here. Sting and Rogue look at each other and nod before leaving the group.

"Sorry to interrupt you guys but what does Lucy do here? I mean you haven't eaten her or killed her or anything like that. Is she trying to integrate herself, to study you guys or something?" Gray asked casually and Erza eyed him carefully. She still had to punish them for lying and infiltrating her knights.

"She's just Natsu's toy." Zirconis said laughing and Erza glared at him, placing her hand on her weapon.

"Shut up. It's nothing so crude." Grandeeney said with a sigh. "Lucy's been trying to learn about the dragons yes. She's been curious about our nature, our culture and she wants to wash away the sins that her family brought upon us." Erza and Gray looked up at her in surprise.

"So she tried to befriend the dragons." Erza sighed. "She takes after her mother all right. She always had a kind heart."

Erza, as well as the rest of the kingdom, was fully aware that the Heartfilia's were the ones that lead the revolt against the dragons. It had been centuries ago when the war was fought and humans came out victorious. The Heartfilia's however had revoked their honor to victory, not wanting to be recognized for the extinction of a race. Despite the fact that they were viewed as heroes and saviours, they banned any mention of the war or dragons within their borders. It became a taboo, which was kind of strange. Why lead a war only to revoke your recognition when you come out the victor? Erza thanked them for watching over Lucy and left with the others.

"Think she'll do it, that little girl?" Zirconis asked Grandeeney.

"That...I do not know but I hope so. We'll see what the future holds for us and the humans." she said looking up at the sky.

From far off Carla had heard the whole conversation. She frowned as she clenched her paws. _Destruction._ She thought to herself. _Lucy Heartfilia. Once again the Heartfilia's will bring about the downfall of dragon's and this time they'll succeed._ She had seen it. Ever since she was young she had the strange ability of being able to see pieces of the future and what she saw this time left her a lot more than uneasy. She saw a looming shadow, blood spraying across the ground soaking into it, there were screams and crying and fighting, she saw the dragon pulse glowing weakly, cracking and crumbling in the cave. She wasn't 100% sure what it all meant but it was nothing good. She had to let them know but she also had to wait for the right time. She sighed heavily and walked away.

Night time fell and Natsu finally came back to the house. He walked in the door and looked around but didn't see Happy. He figured maybe Happy went to help Carla watch over the humans. He's pulled out of his thoughts as he sees Lucy leaning on the window and looking up at the night sky. The night light cast its glow on her light skin and blonde hair making her seemingly shine. A beautiful sight that seemed to be in contrast with the way she stood there, looking up longingly.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he asked after taking a deep breath and stepping toward her.

"I'm trying to find the stars." she says softly and finally turns to him offering him a smile but he saw the sadness that was there.

 _Stars?_ Natsu thought to himself confused. What about the stars? Lucy saw the confused look on his face and she allowed a small smile.

"Whenever my mom felt troubled or lonely she always looked at the stars for comfort. They helped her to not be sad. She taught me all about the stars when I was little and we used to stargaze together. Doing that with here are some of my favorite memories. I know it's dumb but I'd like to think that when she died she turned into a star and is up there with them. And maybe she's watching over me." Lucy said softly as she turned her head to look up at the sky again.

He had a feeling he knew what she meant, how she felt. When Igneel died he felt as if he had become one with the glowing orb, the dragon pulse. That was why he often went there, to talk to Igneel, to feel close to him. Natsu walked up next to Lucy and looked up at the barren night sky. His eyes slightly widened at the realization that this brought. There weren't any stars and for Lucy that was as if the dragon pulse had suddenly disappeared. He thought about walking down to the cave to find it empty, barren, the dragon pulse gone. His heart ached and there was a weight that he felt. The village was positioned more with in the forest making it hard to clearly see the night sky. Around the island there were a couple of decent spots but not many.

Natsu frowned as he grabbed Lucy's wrist and pulls her toward the door. She got confused and asked him what he was doing, letting herself be led outside. They walked outside and Natsu looked up. He stopped and turned to face her, looking down into her eyes. He smirked at her playfully before scooping her up in his arms bridal style. She yelped quietly as she instinctively places her hands around his neck and his wings appeared, spreading out. Suddenly, they shot shot up into the air making Lucy squeak. She hugged closer to him, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. She could hear the crackling of branches and the sounds of leaves brushing against them, the sound of wind in her ear. She kept her eyes closed because of the leaves and branches that Natsu flew through. It seemed as they got higher the branches thinned out and provided less resistance. Suddenly the noise and all stops as she feels Natsu's body jolt and a cold breeze blow past them, leaves falling away from them and back down to the island.

"It's ok." he said softly as he looked down at her and nudged her softly. "You can look."

Lucy slowly opened her eyes and and gently pulled her face from around her shoulder. She could feel the soft light on her face and her breath was taken away as she saw an infinite number of stars. For the first time she wasn't looking up at them from afar but rather she was among them. The night sky shining brightly in its dark expanse and seemingly surrounding them and wrapping them in a starry blanket. It was like bathing in the stars.

"Wow...it's...amazing." she said breathlessly overwhelmed by the view.

Natsu smiled as he saw the amazed, happy, and excited look on her face. He felt warm inside seeing her smile widely. He tilted his head in confusions as she continue to take in the sight. Warm? He was always warm, heck he was a fire dragon, so why did this warmth stand out? The kind of warmth that came from Lucy...was different and he found that he didn't dislike it. He felt something for the first time in awhile. Or had he begun feeling things since she had arrived? He didn't know, didn't completely understand but maybe...it wasn't a bad thing. He smiled softly at the thought of her and the warmth she brought him. Lucy turned her gaze to him and thanked him with a bright smile. He smiled back and gently leaned his forehead forward touching hers. After a bit Natsu flew them back down back to the house. Once they landed, he set Lucy down and they walked inside.

"Sorry." he said softly and Lucy turned around to see him looking down, with his hand on the back of his neck. She was a bit confused as she noticed he seemed a bit embarrassed. He looked up at her and met her eyes. "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. For leaving you...like that...and kissing you...without asking." Lucy looked at him in surprise. For being such a possessive dragon it was weird to hear him talking about asking for a kiss instead of just taking it.

"It's okay." she said chuckling a bit. "I didn't mind it at all." she said and then slapped her hand over her mouth and Natsu looked at her in surprise. Leave it to the stars and her carefree attitude to make her let it slip that she _didn't_ mind their steamy make out from earlier. She saw a smirk spread across his lips.

"Oh really?" he asked huskily as he walked toward her.

She backed away slightly cursing herself for opening her mouth. Her back hit the wall and he came up trapping her against it and looking at her intensely. Their bodies were mere inches apart. His eyes fell down to her lips and he brought his hand over from where it was on the wall and brushed his fingers against her lips. He used his thumb and parted her lips slightly making her memories from earlier come back. She remembered this same gesture, the way he was sweaty, panting, and half naked and looking at her lustfully. She moaned softly and cursed herself for allowing those images to flood her mind, for thinking of him in that way.

"Lucy.." he said lowly. "What are you doing to me?"

He growled softly and then moved forward and captured her lips with his own. He broke the kiss much to fast for her taste and she was about to protest when she suddenly felt his lips on her neck. She gasped slightly at the feel of his tongue on her neck. He dragged the tip of his tongue across her skin as he kissed and sucked on her. She moaned softly as he continued, leaving small trails of saliva along her neck and sending pleasurable shivers down her spine. She tilted her head back a bit as he kissed up her neck and dragged his tongue across it under her chin. His hands moved down and gripped her waist as she gasped and he sealed his lips over hers. The tips of his tongue moved across her parted lips before he slipped it into her mouth earning him a moan. She closed her eyes and grabbed at his shoulders as she allowed her eyes to close and enjoyed the feeling of his tongue sliding against hers. Once again her scent hit him, the same from before. She was getting aroused. He broke the kiss and this time she did let out a soft whine as she opened her eyes. They looked at each other and he saw the flushed look on her face. She was breathing heavily, tempting him to eat her then and there. He growled lowly. That was it. Earlier he tried to hold back, he had Happy take her because if he stayed around her it would lead to more than just kissing. But now, seeing her like this again, smelling her...One time he could handle but this happening a second time...Natsu picked her up bridal style once again earning him a small squeak from her. He carried her to the bedroom and tossed her softly onto the bed making her squeal softly at the impact. Natsu wasted no time in getting on the bed and moving over her body.

"I don't know what you're doing to me but you're not getting away this time." he said dangerously, though she knew the meaning behind it, and it sent shivers down her spine.

Lucy looked into his eyes and noticed them taking on the appearance of snake eyes again. They were full of lust and desire and she could see a hint of anger, that seemed to mirror a battle of restraint that he was having. How she wished he'd give in and get on with taking her. Really this dragon boy was driving her crazy. He closed his eyes as he inhaled her addicting and pleasurable scent. The lavender and strawberry that invaded his nostrils and planted themselves in his memory as her and her alone mixed together with her undoubtedly and intoxicating scent of her arousal. He would never forget the way she smelled. It was a dangerous situation for him to be in.

"Lucy." he said her name huskily again and leaned down to capture her swollen lips.

To Lucy's surprise it was a sweet, tender kiss that he placed upon her soft lips making her melt into it. She closed her eyes as they deepened the kiss and that's when she took note of his scent. He smelt of cinder and ash and she found that she loved it. She found the smell appealing and comforting like a campfire. Natsu broke the kiss and leaned down and began placing kisses along her jaw. She tilted her head back as he continued and began to kiss down her neck and to her collarbone. He placed open kisses along her skin and kissed back up the side of her neck. He began sucking on her skin and nipped at it. She shivered as he softly bit and sucked at her neck leaving a mark. The hot spots he left on her skin were pleasurable and she gasped softly as he kept biting and sucking on her. He left a few marks on her neck and shoulder and licked his creations. He looked at them admiring his marks on her and knew they wouldn't be the last. She gasped and moaned as he sucked on the curve of her neck and she arched slightly as he softly bit her, feeling his teeth on her soft skin. He pulled back and smirked at the new mark, knowing it would be awhile before it disappeared.

Natsu's hands roughly slid down her body and over her dress, memorizing her curves as he could. His lips traced butterfly kisses along her skin as he made his way down to her chest. Lucy heard a soft rip and her eyes snapped open and she looked down. He began to rip her dress and pull it down exposing her breasts. Lucy paled at the action...the dress...again with the dress. What was it with him and ripping her dresses damnit? This dress was a gift from Wendy and she actually liked it! She'd yell at him for this later, right now though she needed him. He ignored her small sound of protest as he finished ripping the dress completely and pulling it down to her waist exposing her. She brought her hands to his head and ran them through his hair and one of her hands over one of his horns. She gasped loudly as he placed his mouth on her right breast and he brought his hand up to cup the other. He teased and massaged it as she began to moan softly. Her hands dropped slammed down on the bed and she slightly arched her back as his tongue circled around her hardening nipple before flicking it. Her hands balled into fists pulling at the sheets as he sucked on it sending pleasurable feelings through her. He brushed his thumb over her other nipple and took between his fingers playing with it as he continued feasting on the other. She moaned loudly as he switched breasts and began sucking and licking on her left breast while his other hand came up and fondled the newly neglected one. She mewled and moaned as she had her breasts sucked on and played with. She pulled again at the sheets as she began to writhe lightly from the pleasure. He pulled from her breasts and placed an open kiss on her skin under them. She shivered pleasurably as she felt the cool air on her breasts that had traces of his saliva on them. He smirked as he placed open kisses down her body until he came to her navel. She gasped as his tongue snaked and he sank the tip into her belly button twisting it. She never thought of that being a pleasure spot but she found it to be very pleasurable and she moaned softly as he explored her navel with his tongue. After a bit he continued down and he once again grabbed ahold of her dress. She whined as he ripped the rest of the dress off of her and threw it on the ground. What will Wendy say when she finds? Oh god Wendy can't find out how the dress got ripped. Lucy thought as her eyes widened. She was pulled from her thoughts as Natsu ripped her underwear off of her and threw it with the dress. Lucy blushed as he looked at her completely naked now. No one, let alone a man, had seen her like this before. She shifted slightly feeling shy under his lustful gaze, his eyes roaming her body taking in every detail. He bent down, lowering his face to her womanhood as he spread her legs. Natsu closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, his mouth watering as he took in her scent once again. He had reached his destination, the source that had driven him insane with lust and pleasure, an intoxicating scent that came only from her. As she realized what he was doing she said his name softly in protest but her mind went blank as she felt his mouth on her womanhood. She twitched in pleasure as she felt him lick at her and his tongue explored her wet core, sinking his tongue in her.

"Natsu." she moaned out as he continued his exploration and teasing. "Yes! Right there!"

She cried out and he focused on the spots that he gave her the most pleasure as he ate her out. She began to chant his name as he continued pleasuring her and she gripped at the sheets roughly. She began to writhe as his actions became a bit more aggressive, him savoring her taste and he pushed two of his fingers into her. Her back arched and she cried out his name as she came and he drank up her release. Her body fell back down to the bed, limpless and she panted heavily as she came down from her orgasm. He gave her a few more licks and kisses before he pulled away from her. He looked at her and smirked as he licked his lips and then brought his fingers coated in her juiced up to his mouth. She watched as he licked his fingers clean and she found it arousing.

"I'm not done with you princess." he said as he got up and pulled off his scarf. "Don't get tired on me yet." he said huskily and she looked up at him.

"N-Natsu...please." she whispered and he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

He got back up and began to remove the rest of his clothes. Her eyes stayed on him as each piece of clothing was removed. She blushed as he removed the last piece of clothing and licked her lips as she saw just how aroused he was.

"Like what you see?" he smirked as he looked at her and began to get back onto the bed.

She blushed harder and looked away as he crawled over her, looking down at her body. He slid a hand across her soft skin as he studied her naked form and looked her up and down carefully. Her body was fit and thin, her skin soft and unblemished. He had never seen anything so beautiful, felt anything so soft or tasted anything so sweet. She shivered as his fingers trailed along her silky smooth skin and she savored his touch. Lucy looked up at him and then allowed her eyes to roam his body. It was different than hers. Of course there was the obvious. But she took in the sight of his toned body that seemed to also maybe be a little battle worn. He had scars and his skin was rough but not unpleasantly so. She ran her hands over his biceps and down his body. He found the touch of her soft hands on him pleasurable as they roamed over his muscles and down over his toned stomach. She stopped at his waist and looked into his eyes. Hesitantly, she snaked her hand lower and he gasped as she took him in her hand. He shivered at the feel of her fingers wrapping around him and he thrusted gently into her hand making her more aroused. He saw a look of growing lust in her eyes and he leaned down to kiss her passionately and her hands slid up his sides and around to his back.

"Are you ready?" he asked softly between their lips and she nodded with a smile.

She reached down and took him in her hand once again to help guide him into her. He hissed as and she moaned as he slowly began to slide into her. She wasn't experienced but she tried to remember things that Erza had told her and things from the books she had shared with Lucy regarding sex. For once she was happy that Erza had no qualms about talking with her about sex. Natsu on the other hand was pretty much just working off of instinct and so far he had seemed to be an okay job. After all, she wasn't complaining so far. It was odd for Natsu as well as he had never really felt the want to do this with anyone. She let go of him as he slid into her more and he groaned as he felt her womanhood wrap tightly around him. She let go of him and leaned her head back into the pillow. She closed her eyes as she felt a mix of pain and pleasure as he continued to enter her. They both panted as he continued pushing into her and he fought to control himself. He looked at her and saw the slight pain on her face. His hand slid along her thigh and gripped it as he leaned down and kissed her tenderly.

"It's okay. You're okay Luce." he said softly between kisses.

He continued to offer soothing and calming words as he continued and she whimpered as the rest of his length slid into her, their hips meeting. He held still allowing her to adjust to his size though it was hard for him not to move at all. He kissed along her jaw and neck and he felt her begins to relax. He slowly pulled back a little and she gasped as he pushed back into her. There was still slight pain but she allowed him to continue. He continued to slowly and gently move in and out of her and he moaned at the unbelievable pleasure that it gave him. The pain began to subside and Lucy was able to completely feel the great pleasure he was giving her. He carefully continued his movements and her hands roamed over his back, her nails slightly digging into him as she looked up at him. He saw the lust in her eyes and could feel her getting more and more aroused. The feeling of him inside her made her shiver in pleasure.

"Faster." she gasped as she leaned her head back. "Faster Natsu."

At the okay he snapped. He gave in to his instincts and began to move in and out of her at a faster pace eliciting sexy moans from his lover. She gasped and moaned, her nails leaving red marks across his back as he moved at a rougher pace but not enough to hurt her. He looked down and watched as her body bounced with his thrusts and he leaned down and began kissing and sucking on her neck. He gripped her thigh as she wrapped her legs around his waist allowing him to go deeper and she moaned his name out loudly making him go thrust faster into her. She grunted as she felt unbelievable pleasure from being filled by him.

Her moans and mewls were music to his ears as he continued thrusting in and out of her. Natsu knew this had started out as desire and lust but now it was rough sure but it was also passionate. It wasn't just instinct or the need to do this. He wanted to be with her like this, he wanted to bring her pleasure like no one had before. She turned her head to the side as he leaned his head against her shoulder. She caught sight of his tail swaying back and forth slowly next to them. She dropped her arm down and reached out and grabbed the end of his tail earning her a hiss from him but he continued his thrusting. She pulled his tail closer to them and began to gently stroke like she had before. He gasped as she did that and he brought a hand up and grabbed a hold of one of her breasts and began massaging it. His tail slipped from her hand and wrapped around her wrist. As it brought it up above her head, Natsu grabbed her other arm and did the same. His tail wrapped around both of her wrists and pinned her arms above her. Lucy moaned at the new position and found that she liked the feel of her wrists bound, making her more aroused. She hoped that he did this the next time too. He groaned as he bit down on the curve of her neck and she cried out in pleasure. He wanted to bite down harder to make her his but he didn't break the skin. He stopped himself. He wouldn't just do that, as much as he may have wanted. She had a say in that.

"Lucy." he moaned her name into her neck as the bed rocked gently back and forth. "Feels so good."

"Uh uh Natsu. Harder." she whimpered and he complied making her moan loudly.

"Oh Lucy." he groaned. "Lucy." he panted as he thrusted into her faster and harder.

"Natsu Natsu Natsu. Yeah!" she panted and moaned heavily until she began screaming his name. "NATSU! NATSUUUU!"

She screamed and he yelled out as they came together. He thrusted completely into her and she arched her back as the pleasure overwhelmed them and they came. She fell back onto the bed and he thrusted into her a few more times before pulling out and falling on his side next to her. They both panted heavily and fought to catch their breath from their intense love making. He wrapped around her and pulled her to him so her body pressed against his. She reveled in the feel of her pressed up against him and she looked over at him with a smile. He smiled back softly and gently kissed her forehead before placing a sweet kiss on her lips. She cuddled into him as he held her close and she thanked him before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. He laid his head down and closed his eyes thinking...He couldn't believe he gave in to her...yet, it felt right. It felt natural. Sure they were both inexperienced but it was pleasurable for both of them and next time he'd make it even better for her. He shook the thoughts from his mind. He was too tired to think anymore and allowed himself to go to sleep.

" _That's it...Just a little closer…" the silhouetted woman spoke to Lucy. She was too tired though from her 'exercise' and in such a blissful state that she didn't want to deal with this. Besides, what could go wrong now? The woman reached out and grabbed her, a wicked smile shone from her dark figure. "Good girl."_


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Hey guys here's a new chapter! Hope you enjoy it! As always let us know what you think We really enjoyed reading comments on the last chapter XD There were a lot but some we liked:**

 **An Amber Pen-I went from thinking, "Damn, that was hot," straight to "Oh, crap, Lucy's in big trouble." Who is the mysterious lady, and what does she want with Lucy? Please keep writing!**

 **Sarara1.8-2 words: F-I-N-A-L-L-Y (concerning them giving in to their affection like that) aaaaand A-W-E-S-O-M-E great chapter, great writing :)**

 **Monika-Just what I was waiting for. I really like Natsu's depth and hesitation. :) can't wait for the next chapter (though I read somewhere you are going on hiatus?) well either way. Nice job**

 **Oh and just FYI no we are not going on hiatus. we're gonna keep posting and try to get the chapter out once a week. Also guys Arisa and I talked and wanted to let you know if you want Epilogues to any fics or one-shots you have to let us know. If we get multiple people asking for it then it will happen. I'm looking at you people who want an Epilogue for The Housekeeper" fic and "The Airport" one-shot. So comment and let us know. wtihout further ado enjoy the new chapter! And check out Ari's tumblr I've linked it before and her art is great :)**

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Natsu woke up the next morning feeling a little hazy from the last night's events. He sat up on his elbows as he came to and began to run through what had happened. Slowly looking around the room he saw their clothing thrown around all over the place. A smirk spread across his lips as he saw her ripped dress bunched up against the wall, and on the floor where he had thrown it. With that annoying dress gone she can get back to wearing his long vest and whether she wore underwear or not underneath it didn't matter to him. Better that she didn't so he could take her whenever he wanted. Hell, if he had it his way he'd probably just keep her here naked all the time, Happy would have to move out but they'd still hang out. Happy just couldn't come over. Natsu looked up at the ceiling with a smile replaying last night in his mind. Memories of Lucy played into his mind...Her flushed face, the way her skin took on a certain glossy shine with a layer of sweat over it, he could hear her heavy breathing, her whimpers and pleading sounds that came from those luscious lips, the way his name left her lips sent a shiver through him. He growled lowly at the hot memories.

"Lucy." he whispered her name. Why was he acting like this? Why did he care for her like this? What...wait. Natsu looked over and realized that the culprit who had made a mess of his heart and mind wasn't there next him but the bed sheets were a tangled mess. "Lucy?" he called out, sitting up and looking around.

There was no sight of her, and her clothes were still on the ground. Not that she could wear them. He listened and heard nothing. He got out of bed and pulled on his pants as he called her name again. He walked around the small house but she was nowhere to be found. Now he was starting to get worried. Natsu rushed outside and called out her name loudly but still nothing. It was still pretty early so the island was relatively quiet. Where would she go? His eyes perked up as an idea came to mind and he took off running. He arrived at Wendy's place and found it silent. He looked through the windows and searched the grounds. It appeared Wendy was still asleep and he saw Happy there with Carla. He 'tched' upon turning up empty handed and headed into the jungle to look for her.

He called out her name as he walked through the trees and brush. His heart was pounding in his chest and his mind was reeling. He kept on looking for her in the places he knew she'd been and liked. His worry growing with every second. His chest tightened and his thoughts felt as if they were getting muddy. _The waterfall._ He thought to himself. She liked the waterfall, maybe after last night she decided to go and bathe. He ran as hard and as fast as he could, slight hope dangling before him and dared to let a small smile form. He burst forth from the treeline and came to her waterfall. His smile faded and it felt like 500 tons of metal had just been dropped on his soul. He cursed. Where was she? Lucy...she screwed him up. Natsu realized how worried and concerned he was right now and that it was because of her. His eyes narrowed as he thought about what she was doing to him and he was angry. How dare she make him worry. How dare she do this to him. How dare she find him and weave herself into his life. How dare she seduce him and beckon him to her. She was supposed to be dead. He should've never given her a chance and done what he originally planned to. He should have killed her and dropped her body on her father's doorstep. She was a lowly human, a Heartfilia who was to be used in his plans for revenge. Who was she to…

" _Natsu"_

The sound of her saying his name rang in his head from the night before. He could hear her whispering, moaning his name. He could hear her begging him not to stop, her loud moans as she pleaded with him to 'go faster, harder'. Images of her laying beneath him as he thrusted into her flashed in his mind. The lust in her eyes. The...what was that look? It made him feel warm and feel much more. He remembered the way her body rocked and shivered beneath him as he ate her up. The way her body felt under him, her soft skin, the way she smelled, both her natural scent and her arousal. It was all imprinted on his brain. Her mewls and whimpers and gasps echoed loudly in his mind. The way she moaned his name, the way she screamed it when she came. Her voice. How he missed her voice, her feel, her smell. He could never forget those things even if he wanted to.

"DAMMMNNNIIIIIIITTTT!" he yelled out as he dropped to his knees and punched the ground in front of him.

He felt weak, it was all he could do to stay upright, the weight on his soul increasing. He felt a tightness in his chest like never before and it felt like something had a tight grip on his heart. He panted heavily and choked, feeling it hard to breathe. His head spun in dizziness and his body ached. It felt like something was ripping apart his insides and his veins felt like ice. He knew something was wrong. He felt to his core. He felt it in his bones. His eyes widened as he came to the realization. He couldn't fool himself any longer. At first he had thought, he had told himself that it was just lust, just pure, raw desire that made him...do what he did last night, feel the way he did. But he was wrong. He knew deep inside that he was in fact getting attached to her. He saw her less and less as a tool for revenge and more as a potential friend. Shortly after bringing her to the island he found her alright but it didn't stop there. It started growing. He was blind to it. It had crept up on him one day and before he knew it he cared. He cared about what she did, who she spoke to, how she was. She had worked herself in to be a part of his life and soon he found that he viewed her as a part of him. He began to see and think of her, whether he knew it or not, as a potential lover, a potential mate. Last night he had finally given in, finally listened to his instincts and his instincts told him to mate with her. He had hated to admit it at first, even asking Igneel for forgiveness. It felt like he had failed him, falling in love with a human let alone a human from the bloodline that was responsible for Igneel's death. For so long he kept to himself, kept away. After Igneel, after him...Never again, he swore and then she had shown up and she took what wasn't hers. She made him hers without even asking and then the walls began to crack and crumble. He let her in, he let himself feel again, whether he wanted to or not. He found that he liked that though. But where did that get him. Here he was again. Alone. Natsu lowered his head, he couldn't do it anymore. He began to sob, tears streaming down his face as the waterfall hid his crying and his pain.

From the village smoke could be seen coming from the jungle. The dragons and hybrids noticed that it seemed to be getting closer at an alarming rate which was a little strange. Sting and Rogue looked off and in the distance they could see what looked like a pissed off Natsu headed toward the village. They didn't know why he was pissed off but knew that whatever it was was not good. He was not fun when pissed off. Natsu continued his approach, with each step he took fire was left behind and burned away at the foliage. Erza and her group were chatting with some of the other hybrids in the village, it was kind of funny how they were able to get on friendly terms in such a short time. Well, friendly enough, they brawled and fought with each other but it was more playful in nature. Suddenly their attention was grabbed by Natsu entering the village. Anyone in his way cautiously moved and all could see the dark look on his face.

"Where is she?" he growled loudly as he approached Erza. Everyone froze and looked at him in fear. "What did you do to her?!" he roared.

Natsu figured the humans must have taken her. They had come here specifically to look for her after all. For the princess. It was the only way she could be nowhere to be found. She wasn't anywhere on the island it seemed and unless a dragon had flown her out, she had no way to leave. He knew none of the dragons would betray him so it had to be their new arrivals. He had made it clear to the dragons that Lucy wasn't to be touched. Erza's group looked confused but that didn't stop him from yelling his question at them again. Erza took a step forward, about the only one brave enough to face him.

"What are you talking about? Quit you're yelling and explain yourself!" she commanded. "You're not making any sense."

"I'm talking about Lucy." he growled through grit teeth. Who was she to talk like that to him? "Where did you take my Lucy? Where have you hidden her?"

"Lucy's missing?" Wendy asked looking at him.

Erza looked at him confused. His Lucy? Since when was she HIS? And what? Lucy was gone? What did he mean Lucy was gone? Erza began to panic and worry. After all this time of her being missing to finally find her, here of all places, and now she was missing again. Erza began to grow angry. She wasn't going to lose Lucy, not again. This had to be trick. She looked at the hybrid in front of her and re-equipped into her fire armor making Natsu go on alert.

"So you're going to fight me?" Natsu asked as he lit his fists on fire. "You did take her from me didn't you?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about but if you're trying to trick us I will end you myself and raze this island to find Lucy and take her home." Erza said drawing her weapon.

"Whoa, hang on everybody. Just calm down!" Gray said stepping in before the situation could escalate anymore. "Look man no one here has seen Lucy since yesterday." he said looking at Natsu and Natsu turned his attention to the ice mage. "She was looking for you, trying to find you. One of your guys told her where he thought you were and then she left. The rest of us have all been here in the village. We've never left. Ask around if you don't believe me." Natsu looked over at Sting and Rogue who nodded in the affirmative.

"It's true. I saw Lucy run from the village after talking to them." Wendy said.

"Then you were last to see her!" Erza said accusingly.

"No! Natsu would never hurt Lucy but then…" Wendy began. "We have to find her!"

"This doesn't make any sense." Natsu shook his head with frustration as he extinguished his flames.

"How could she just disappear?" Erza asked changing back to her normal armor.

The other hybrids walked up next to him as he looked down trying to think. His mind moved at a thousand miles a second trying to think through everything together. Erza and the other looked at him and realized that he genuinely seemed to be concerned and frustrated. Erza saw Gajeel seem to perk up as if he just realized something or notice something. She looked at him quizzically as he sniffed once, then twice. Gajeel wrinkled his nose as he sniffed the air once again and moved closer to Natsu grabbing his attention. He turned to Natsu, who leaned away and he sniffed again. Natsu stared at him as Gajeel grinned slyly.

"You and bunny girl fu-"

"Shut up Gajeel" Natsu glared at him and crossed his arms across his chest.

"They what? What did Natsu and Lucy do?" Wendy asked with an innocent smile.

"They played find the dragon." Rogue snickered and Gajeel and the others laughed.

"What?" she asked confused.

"My word! Don't listen to them child." Carla told Wendy as Rogue was blasted in the face with fire by Natsu.

"What are-" Erza began but then realized what they must mean. "You better have not have had se-have sle-" she couldn't bring herself to say it despite have having had lewd conversations with the girl. Jellal put a hand on Erza's shoulder as he himself looked at Natsu with wide eyes.

"Hell, no wonder you're on edge Salamander. Losing your girl after your mating night." Gajeel said watching him and Gray had a sly smile on his face.

"Wh-wh-whaaat?! M-M-Mating night?!" Wendy asked in horror as she looked over at Natsu. Sure she knew what mating was but...him and...Lucy? Her mind about exploded.

"So he's not normally this out of control?" Laxus asked.

"This ain't out of control. Believe me you'll know that when you see it but yeah this explains a lot." Gajeel said as Natsu glared at him. "Any hybrid would be acting the same way." Oh how he wanted to tease Salamander but given the seriousness of this he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew he would be acting the same if not worse if he had lost the person he chose to mate with the night after they consummated. Gajeel sighed. "Well, did you try and track her? See if you could find bunny girl like that?" Natsu looked at him wide eyes, frozen in place. Tracking.

"Damnit, why didn't I think of that." Natsu growled and Erza and the others looked confused.

"One of the abilities that we have as hybrids is we're really sensitive to smell. We can smell a lot more than the average human and we can pick out individual smells." Wendy began to explain, having recovered now, as she saw the looks of confusion. "So we can even pick out a person's unique scent. That's how we knew you guys were here. So Natsu should've been able to smell her out."

"But I guess he didn't think of that." Rogue added.

"Geez that's basic Salamander. Blondie must've really screwed you up."

"Shut up metalhead." Natsu growled and Erza sighed.

"Fine if you can smell her out then do that." she said.

"Better if we start the last place we know she was." Gajeel said.

"Home." Natsu said with narrowed eyes.

The group left for Natsu's place, all of them, humans included. They finally arrived and Wendy waited outside with the exceeds while the others went in. They walk into his house, Erza and the others looking around at the humble place. She tried to picture Lucy being there and sleeping there. It was certainly the complete opposite of her room at the castle. In fact Natsu's place could probably fit inside her room. They continued on and walked back to the bedroom. Erza and her group paused and stared at the room. They saw clothes thrown about everywhere, Natsu's and Lucy's. Erza's face got as red as her hair as she looked over and saw Lucy's ripped dress and Gajeel snickered at the sight.

"The princess is no longer a maiden." Jellal said more to himself than anyone else as he stood next to Erza his eyes wide again.

"Tch looks like you guys had quite the night." Gray said looking around the room.

"Shut it freezer burn." Natsu said shooting him a glare.

"What did you say flame for brains?!" Gray shot back.

"Hey, knock it off!" Gajeel said before looking at Natsu. "Smell her out Salamander."

"You guys aren't going to track her too?" Jellal asked.

"Nah, only Salamander can." Gajeel said folding his arms and looking at the humans. "I mean we could try but we're not really familiar with her scent. HIs scent is mixed in with hers too much now so it'd be impossible. If we had been able to know her scent before then we could probably help but she reeks of Salamander."

Natsu turned his glare to Gajeel and then closed his eyes to concentrate. He inhaled for added assistance. He didn't really need to try and know her scent again, he knew it. But her scent was strong in his house so it did help. He began to walk around and then began to head toward the door. As soon as he crossed the threshold he paused. He took a few steps out and around the front of his house, sniffing before walking back inside. He walked around a bit smelling up her scent again before walking back outside. Once again once he stepped through the door he paused.

"That's impossible." he muttered.

"What's wrong?" Rogue asked.

"Her smell. It just stops." he said.

"What do you mean?" Erza asked.

"I mean i can smell her all around in here but once I step outside it's gone."

"Could the breeze have blown it away?" Jellal asked.

"No, you don't get it. I smell nothing."

"At the very least he should be able to pick up traces of her scent." Gajeel explained.

"Yeah but there's nothing." Natsu repeated. "It's as if…"

"She vanished." Gray said completing his thought.

"What do you mean she just vanished? How can you not smell her if it's all over the house. She's not here." Erza says getting frustrated by the turn of events.

"I don't know." Natsu growled. "Her scent is just gone. It should be impossible but it just vanishes." he says his heart pounding in his chest again as the anxiety he felt from earlier begins to imbed itself in him once more.

"Well, something's definitely not right. And something's bothering me but…" Jellal begins thoughtfully.

"Yeah something is definitely weird about all this." Gildarts calls from the bedroom and all eyes turn back to him.

He walked around the room seemingly inspecting it again as the others move back toward him. He leans down, a hand on his chin and a smile spreading his across his lips as he continued thinking. He reaches down to pick up a ripped piece of clothing and they soon start to realize that it looks a lot like Lucy's underwear. The others blushed as they watched him pick up the ripped piece of cloth with his finger.

"Put that down." Natsu growled.

"Don't you get it?" Gildarts asked as he stood up and waved the piece of underwear.

"Stop touching it." Natsu snapped as he stepped forward and snatched it away from him. "What?"

"Either your princess has a habit of prancing around butt naked or something serious happened with her." He said getting serious.

He was right. Lucy's ripped clothes were still here. She had nothing else to wear and all the sheets were here on the bed. Natsu walked over to the closet and looked inside. He cursed. Everything was still there so she didn't take any of his clothes to cover up. Lucy was not one to go around naked and there was nothing she could've taken to cover herself. No way that shy girl left here naked, at least not of her free will.

The tightening and weight on Natsu's soul returned. The ice in his veins burned him from the inside once again like nothing he had ever felt. The clawing in his insides threatened to purée him and rip out from inside of him. Again he felt weak, helpless. Like he was being ripped apart molecule by molecule. All of the feelings from the waterfall were returning. His eye stung and he felt like he couldn't breath. The air felt like poison. He could hear the others talking but it sounded muffled and he caught bits and pieces.

"No...can't be…" He heard Wendy's voice.

"Rogue and I had patrol…" He heard Sting say. "...nothing out of the ordinary."

"Damnit!" Natsu yelled finally and he punched a hole in his wall startling the others. "What the hell happened to Lucy?! How could I have let my guard down?! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" He yelled and punched at the wall. His body ached with pain. His insides ached with pain. He wanted to rip off his skin and try to get to the source, try to deaden the things he was feeling.

"Salamander." Gajeel said putting an arm on his shoulder but he roared out and Erza and the others took a step back. "Natsu!" He called out to him and Natsu froze, once again tears were streaming down his face. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried and now...twice in one day.

"I know it wasn't my people." Natsu said lowly as he wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. "And if it wasn't you." He said looking over at Erza and her group. "Then someone else snuck into the island and took her." Natsu stands upright and narrows his eyes. "I'm going after her and I'm going to find her."

"Out there?" Gajeel asked.

"If she's not on the island then she's outside, out there." Natsu nodded. "I'm going after her. It's Lucy."

"Tsk great." Gajeel said knowing there was no stopping him.

"I'll go as well and help. I'm worried about her just as you are." Erza announced and Jellal nodded.

"We're in too. I may not have known her long but the princess is like a little sister to me." Gray said. _And we gotta turn in our report to master anyway._ The others step forward and agree to join him as well, both humans and hybrids alike. Natsu looks around at all of them and even the exceeds had joined them.

"Alright just then." He says looking around at them. "Let's go!"

 **Somewhere In A Dark Room**

Lucy groaned softly as she began to wake. Her body felt sore but in a good kind of way which was kind of funny. As she slowly stirred, memories of last night returned to her. Her and Natsu. Him over her, kissing her, touching her, being inside of her. Her face grew red as she remembered every detail of their coupling. Wait, why was it so dark? Natsu wasn't there she realized quickly and she began to look around. In fact, where the hell was she? She was _not_ at Natsu's. She sat up and realized she was still naked which wouldn't have been a problem but there were no sheets. Where did they go?

"Kyaaah!" she yelped as she tried to find something to cover herself with upon discovering her nakedness.

"You're quite the noisy one once you wake up." a woman said approaching her and dropping a sheet in front of her. "Though I'm sure your little dragon boy knows just how noisy you really are." she smirked.

Lucy looked up at her as she took the sheet and wrapped it around her form. She looked at the woman who was clad in a skin tight outfit that seemed to emphasize her sizeable chest and revealed her thighs. She wore a long striped jacket that had a collar wrapping around her neck. From beneath the long sleeves Lucy thought she saw sharp claws peaking out from them. A pair of thick bands wrapped around the woman's thighs and then Lucy noticed that she had bird like feet. The woman wore a helmet that covered most of her face and two long wing like pieces of hair protruded from the side with the rest of her hair running down through her head and stopping at her lower back. A gem was fitted into the helmet above her forehead.

"Who are you? And where am I?" Lucy demanded as she moved to get up but the woman bent down and cupped her chin making her stop.

"You shouldn't talk too much. You should be a good princess and keep it down." she smirked and a shiver ran down Lucy's spine, and not the good kind that Natsu gave her. Something was wrong, something felt off which scared Lucy. "Stay quiet little girl. Your role will soon come to a close." the woman said simply and then left.

Lucy's head spun. Where was she? Where was Natsu? Did they hurt him? Why? Last night she and Natsu had...and now...this...she didn't know what to make of anything. How did she even end up here? Did Natsu know she was missing? She was scared. She didn't know the woman or where she was or what she wanted with her. The woman spoke of Lucy's role but what could she have meant? What role? Lucy crawled over to the corner of her 'room' and sat against the wall.

"Natsu." she whispered his name softly as she she drew up her knees and hugged them to herself.

 **Tenrou Island**

Erza's team along with Natsu and some of his hybrids exited the caves that led to their nest. Natsu as well as Gajeel, Sting, Rogue and Wendy wore long coats with hoods that hid their draconic features. So as to not draw attention the hybrids exceeds had opted to walk alongside their partners instead of fly. Wendy, being the only one who had never left Tenrou Island, and too young to really remember much of the war looked on in amazement at the surrounding forest, as they began their journey, and new landscapes. Sure it looked a little similar to the forest of Tenrou but it was all new and she knew that soon they would meet up with other humans and visit their towns. She couldn't help but smile, a contrast to what the others were feeling.

Erza suggested that they head for the Heartfilia Castle and use that as a starting point in their search. At the very least maybe they could gather some intel, though she didn't know exactly what. They began to head toward the castle with Erza leading the way. Not too long had passed when she spotted a raven flying above them. She recognized it as a messenger raven from the castle as it flew closer. She extended her arm out as a perch and the raven landed on it. The others stopped and made a circle around her as she began to take the note attached to the raven's leg. Once she got it, the raven flew away. Her eyes widened as she read it to herself and the others waited with baited breath.

"What is it Titania?" Jellal asked knowing something was wrong.

"We've been ordered back to the castle." she said with a shaky voice though that wasn't why. It was what came next that took her by surprise. "The princess has returned and the wedding will be in three days."  
"What?" Jellal asked confused and the others froze. Erza and her group didn't notice the hybrids turn to Natsu almost simultaneously.

"MARRIED?!" Natsu yelled out angrily. "The hell she is!"

"Wha-wai-" Erza tried to call stunned further by the outburst as he took off running toward the council.

"Tch. Freakin Salamander." Gajeel scowled. "This is gonna be a pain. I should've stayed back on the island."

"We have to be there for Natsu-san." Sting said with slight concern.

"More like we need to be there to make sure he doesn't burn down the kingdom looking for his girlfriend." Rogue said nonchalantly and Erza's and the others eyes widened.

It sounded ridiculous but if they had learned anything in last day it was the depths of his feelings for their princess and the lengths he would go for her. So burning a kingdom down to find her was entirely in the realm of possibilities. Though Erza hoped they found Lucy before that, though now they had to contend with her wedding and Natsu, the person she had...she had...Erza began to blush as she thought back to Natsu's home and the blatant signs of sex that had taken place between him and the princess. She knew Lucy wouldn't give it up to just anyone so Natsu had to have been special to her but still...She couldn't believe her Lucy had lost her virginity. She shook her head of the thoughts. They had to focus.

The rest of them took off running through the forest, eventually, somehow, catching up with Natsu. They made their way as fast as they could through the forest and finally came to one of the castle gates. Erza and Jellal looked around to see a lot more guards posted on the wall than usual. Natsu stopped as the guards stood in his path with their weapons drawn. Erza called out to him and told him to compose himself. The guards looked at ease when they took note of Erza and Jellal. She and the rest of their group walked up to the guards and one of them approached her.

"Ma'am."

"We received the letter to return and came as fast as we could." she said.

"Correct, ma'am. Forgive us for halting you." he said as he motioned to the other guards and they opened the gate. He eyed the cloaked individuals with Erza wearily, not recognizing them.

"Never mind them. They're with us." Erza said clearing her throat upon picking up the man's heistance. "They were helping us search for the princess." he still didn't completely understand but merely nodded. This was Erza after all.

"Welcome back Scarlet." the head palace guard called out as he approached the group.

"Jellal I'll meet you and the others inside. I'll see what's going on here." she said quietly.

"You sure Erza?" he asked as he looked around noting the extra guards, many of whom he didn't recognize and he knew she had picked up on that as well.

"Go." she nodded and so he took the others with him and headed into the castle. "Report." Erza said as she approached the head palace guard. "The grounds seem to be empty save for the extra men."

"Ah yes, much has happened while you were out searching for the princess ma'am." he began as they walked side by side. "When the princess returned, the wedding location was moved to King Mard's Castle. He left some knights behind to help us guard Heartfilia castle during the wedding. The King ordered us to stay and keep the castle safe and King Mard was kind enough to lend us some help." Erza frowned at this. Why so many guards to protect an empty castle? Yeah it had to be kept safe but this seemed a bit excessive.

"Thank you. Carry on, I have business to tend to" she said and the man nodded.

Erza thought about the turn in events. The disappearance of Lucy, her suddenly being at the castle after she clearly didn't want to leave Tenrou Island anytime soon. Now the wedding was in three days and what? She was just going to marry King Mard, after having...being...with Natsu. Now the castle was crawling his guards while the wedding was supposedly being held now at his castle. None of this made any sense. Something was definitely wrong. She walked through the halls of the castle and finally came to the room that Jellal and the others were in. She entered just in time to hear Natsu yell something about not wasting time and going to look for Lucy.

"We're all worried about her." Jellal said calmly but sternly and Natsu glared.

"No you're not. Not like I am." He growled and took a step toward Jellal. "You don't know what it is to…"

"Natsu, we'll find her." Gajeel said placing his hand on Natsu's shoulder stopping his advance. He then turned to Jellal. "It's no use. I'm sure you care for Lucy but he's right. You don't get it. Arguing with him about it won't get us anywhere."

"Natsu is right though." Erza finally spoke and all eyes turned to her. "We do need to go and find Lucy and King Jude. Figure out what's really going on because something isn't right."

"This big a group is sure to draw attention though." Gray said.

"Indeed, which is why we're going to have to-" Erza was cut off by the chamber doors being thrown open.

The group turned to see a blue haired and brown haired girl enter the chamber with them. She immediately recognized them as Lucy's friends, Cana and Levy. They were both panting heavily and fought to catch their breath. As they looked up at the group they slightly flinched. They were startled by dragons...well half dragons it seemed. Natsu and the others had taken off the long coats while they waited. Levy looked over and saw a large man with long jet black hair looking down at her. After a moment of looking at him she turned away with a slight blush on her cheeks. The two girls were still startled by the...people in the room.

"It's fine." Erza assured them seeing their worried look. "They're friends of Lucy's. But what are you doing here? Why were you running?" the two girls shared a look before turning back to Erza.

"We're running cuz we had to sneak into the castle." Cana said. "Some guards spotted us and so we took off running trying to lose them. I think we did it." she said and looked over at Gildarts.

He eyes widened as their eyes locked. He looked at her with a bit of confusion before he smirked and and arched an eyebrow at her suggestively. She frowned and allowed a small growl to come from her. _No way in hell he is._ She thought to herself as she looked back at the group as a whole.

"We heard your voice and so decided to come this way." Levy finished explaining. "Ever since Lucy had gone missing we were worried about her so we tried looking for her too." Natsu looked off to the side. He had forgotten about the fact that Lucy must have had friends or the fact that she had a life. He wondered if she had missed it, missed them while she was on Tenrou Island. Natsu did remember the long night they spent talking to each other, telling each other everything. That night he would never forget. Maybe some of the details sure but being that close with someone and telling them things he'd never said aloud, that was new. He felt the tightening in his chest grip him tighter. He shook his head. No he had to focus on getting Lucy back. He turned his attention back to the petite blue haired girl. "What really got us worried was the King. He acted really weird when Lucy was found and she never turned up here really. We tried to get in to see her or talk to the King but the guards wouldn't let us in the castle. Then they told us that Lucy was busy planning her wedding."

"Yeah, without us!" Cana chimed in. "No ways Lucy would plan her wedding without us especially since we're supposed to be her bridesmaids." Natsu found himself thinking up an image of Lucy in a wedding dress with her two friends standing beside her and he felt a little warm, and not from his flames. Despite living solely on Tenrou for ages they still learned about and were aware of many traditional human customs. Weddings was definitely part of that category so Natsu and the others were able to keep up with the conversation. "We kept trying to see King Jude but then all these new guards came and one of them took over the castle security." Levy added. "And another weird thing. If the wedding is at King Mard's castle why didn't Lucy's dad go to? Supposedly he's still here in the castle and she went to Mard's."

What? Erza was surprised to hear this. Who was it? Why were they taking over those kinds of duties. She shook her head. Too many questions and not enough information. It seemed that was becoming a regular thing lately and Erza did not like that. She always had answers or at the very least found them lately it had just been more questions and less answers. She chuckled to herself thinking of the irony of the 'mighty Titania's' lack of skill. _There's no time for this!_ She shook her head slightly and frowned as she contemplated these new developments.

"This isn't right. Lucy wouldn't just give in like this. Not after…" she paused and looked over at Natsu. She still wasn't sure what to make of all of that but she trusted Lucy, and she knew her.

"Right. So we crash the wedding and steal the bride." Natsu said with a grin and the two girls looked at him wondering what exactly was going on.

"Uh, who are you again?" Cana asked.

"I'm the guy that's taking Lucy back."

"What?!" the two girls asked incredulously.

"It's clear what we have to do." Erza said ignoring the outburst. "We'll have to split into three teams. Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, Jellal, Happy and I will be one team."

"Aye sir!"

"We'll go to Mard's castle and go after Lucy." Erza continued. "Cana, Levy, Wendy, Gildarts and Laxus, I want you to stay here and find King Jude. While you're at it see if you can find out more about the guards and their true purpose here. I have a feeling it's more than just guarding." she said and looked specifically at Laxus and he nodded. "The final team will go back to the dragon's nest and warn the others about what's happening. If something goes wrong then they should be prepared."

"Dragon's nest?" Levy asked in wonderment and looked at Gajeel who only looked away from her.

"Sting, Rogue, Pantherlily, Carla, Frosch and Lector will be the ones to do that."

"Uh, Erza actually I want to go with the third group. Laxus can handle things here. I think I'll be better use back at the island." Gildarts said.

"No thanks old man. We got it." Sting said with a small laugh.

"It's fine take him." Natsu said slightly annoyed. "I don't care who goes with who I just want Lucy back."

"Okay, Gildarts you head back to the nest with them." Erza said and everyone nodded in agreement.

After splitting up into their different groups they went their separate ways. Gildarts hurried with his group to head back to Tenrou Island to tell the others what was going on and possibly prepare for some kind of battle. Erza and Natsu's group made their way through the castle and went outside to the stables and where the carriages were. Natsu and Gajeel stared at the vehicle already feeling sick and Happy snickered. They began to protest when Erza shushed them in annoyance. Natsu summoned his wings but quickly put them away when Erza smacked him hard.

"We need to be covert dragon boy." Erza frowned and he growled. Dragon boy? Only Lucy got to call him dragon boy. "No time for complaining. We can't just have you fly up to their doorstep. This is the enemy and we're in unknown territory. We have to be cautious."

"Fine." Natsu frowned crossing his arms.

"Uh, I hate to say it but they don't exactly look inconspicuous." Gray pointed out referring to their draconic features

"Tch." Natsu muttered as he and Gajeel shared a look. Almost as soon as they looked away from each other, the others watched in amazement as their dragon features disappeared completely. They looked wide eyed at a seemingly 100% human Natsu and Gajeel.

"That's a neat little trick." Jellal said blankly.

"At least now they look human and won't grab unwanted attention." Erza agrees.

"Hey, we're human." Natsu says not knowing why he felt he needed to say it.

"Yeah they are." Happy explains. "It's just the nature of their magic lets them take on dragon features."

"It's been centuries since I've used this form." Gajeel said cracking his neck.

Natsu and Erza's team headed over to one of the carriages. The group seemed to unanimously ignore the fact that Natsu had revealed something about the hybrids. They were in fact _humans_ and not dragons or some kind of mix between the two said she had a special one to take them to Mard's castle. The carriage was kinda nice, weird considering the kind of mission they were going on. Attached to the carriage was one...horse? What was that thing? Natsu sweat dropped at the sight of it. It was purple, kangaroo like creature that was connected to the carriage the way a horse was but it's head was spinning.

"What the hell is that thing?" Natsu asked staring at it.

"What are you talking about? It's a horse of course." Erza said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and Natsu and Gajeel slapped their palms to their faces. It looked nothing like a horse being purple and standing up on two feet. "Don't worry this baby here is the fastest horse we got." she smiled proudly as she hopped into the carriage. "What are you waiting for? Get on already!" she demanded.

They were hesitant but got on at first. Jellal was quiet, a small, knowing smile on his lips. The others watched as she took a small kind of plate and wrote 'Mard Geer's Castle' on it and placed it in the 'horses' hands. Weird. Gajeel and Natsu looked on dumbfounded but their expressions quickly changed to a sick one as the carriage took off at an unbelievable speed. It surprisingly didn't take too long for them to arrive to their destination. The carriage stopped abruptly and Gajeel and Natsu spilled out of the carriage and onto the ground. Happy offered some words of encouragement as Erza, Jellal and Gray exited the carriage.

"Damn thing with it's speed." Gajeel grumbled as he and Natsu slowly recovered.

"All talk and acting big and tough and the dragons get motion sickness from a carriage ride." Gray teased making Natsu and Gajeel growl at him in annoyance.

Despite the uncomfortableness of the trip, they had a point with the speed though. A trip that normally took a couple of days was reduced to only half of a day. Sure Natsu didn't like transportation of this caliber but he wasn't going to complain if it got him to Lucy faster. The group walked up to the castle and saw that it was full of people. Erza and Jellal figured they were wedding guests. What celebration would be complete without them. They wandered through the crowd and Erza's uneasiness grew. Natsu held Happy in his arms protectively, almost trying to hide him. Erza and Jellal had explained to the exceeds that they should be careful. Since magic was rare and creatures with magic even rarer, humans had a tendency to hunt them down. If the magic wielding exceeds were discovered it could cause problems so now Natsu was trying to keep Happy from being seen as anything other than an ordinary cat.

The group looked around as they now walked the castle grounds and through the crowd of people. The outside courtyard was filled with guests and hundreds of tables with an endless supply of food. Happy's mouth watered as he caught sight of some fish. Normally upon seeing an endless supply of food Natsu would jump at with Happy and stuff his face without a second thought but this time was different. Lucy. Not only her but ever since arriving Natsu had an uneasy feeling and Gajeel had felt it too. It was also hard to ignore the foul stench that seemed to fill the air. Natsu asked Gajeel if he smelt it and the iron hybrid nodded. But it wasn't just in the air they began to notice. The whole place, the crowd...they gave off a stench of darkness...of death. That wasn't right. Something was definitely wrong.

"Natsu…" Happy said softly and in a worried tone.

"Keep your guard up." Erza said calmly.

By now the other two teams should've been well along in their mission. Levy and her group sneaking around the castle trying to find King Jude. Sting and his group hopefully were nearly back to Tenrou to tell the others of what was going on. Erza and Natsu's group finally came to the castle's entrance, it's large doors were held wide open almost as if inviting them in. The team entered the castle and began exploring. Despite there being a party going on outside the halls of the castle were barren and quiet. It had an eerie feeling to it and left the group even more uncomfortable. Erza grimaced as they walked through the empty halls and corridors. Suddenly Natsu stopped in his tracks making the others pause. He sniffed the air a couple of times and then let go of Happy, his eyes widening slightly. He turned his head to the right and sniffed the air again. His body stiffened. Why? After all this time...Natsu frowned and took off running in that direction.

"Natsu's what's wrong?" Erza asked as they took off after him.

"Hey! What's gotten into you man?" Gray asked as they chased him.

They followed him as he ran through the halls making various turns as if he knew exactly where he was going. Finally he came to a long hall and ran toward the end of it where the scent lead him to an old portrait hanging. The others finally caught up and saw him approach the picture slowly. As they neared, Erza recognized it was the portrait they had seen last time her and Jellal were here. She looked at Natsu and saw the look on his face. Did he know the man in the portrait? Silence hung in the air for several minutes.

"Zeref." Natsu said barely above a whisper.

Gajeel sighed and looked to the side. So this was Zeref…the one who...he shook the memories from his head.

"Zeref?" Erza questioned. "Do you know this man?"

Natsu nodded slowly not taking his eyes off of the painting. She wanted to ask more when suddenly two large doors not far from them opened. Erza remembered that they were close to the throne room. Natsu turned and looked at the open doors angrily. The others watched as he headed toward them. They followed him in and at the end of the room saw King Mard sitting on his throne. He casually sat on it with his legs crossed and leaning to the side, ratings on it. An old brown leather book was tucked under his hands, sitting upright in his lap. There were two knights on either side of him and Erza and Jellal recognized them as Tempester and Kyoka.

"Glad everyone could make it to the party." He said meeting their angry glares with a smile. "I was beginning to think my guests of honor wouldn't make it."

"Cut to the chase Mard" Erza said angrily, the title of King obviously missing. "I want answers! The wedding was supposed to be in two weeks. What did you do? Where are Princess Lucy and King Ju-"

"YOU!" Natsu sneered, cutting off Erza and the other looked at him. "Just who the hell are you and why do I sense _his_ smell here?!" Mard smirked at his anger.

"My, my, my. So many questions and demands. It seems as if you've forgotten you're standing before a _king_."

"Shut up and tell us what you did with Lucy!" Gray yelled.

Natsu's eyes widened. Lucy. That's right. The scent of Zeref in the castle threw him off and he had momentarily forgotten what they were really doing here. He cursed under his breath. It was unforgivable.

"The princess? What do you mean? I did nothing to her. She's fine." Mard said standing up. "In fact as we speak she's getting ready for her big day.

Suddenly someone entered the room from behind the throne. She walked up next to Mard and bowed politely. Her hair was done up in a bun with jewels and a crown on her head and she wore a white royal dress. The others looked on stunned as Lucy kissed the back of his hand.

"Mard-sama." She said his name softly. Lucy turned to them finally and politely bowed. "I'm glad you could all make it."

"L-Lucy...you…" Natsu said softly. Those waves of emotion crashing down on him again at seeing her. The ice in his veins, the soul crush, the choking feeling...his breathing intensified as he looked on.

"See I told you. She's fine." Mard said quickly. "Now if you'll excuse us we need to get ready."

"Wait just a moment." Erza said placing her hand on her sword as she took a few steps forward. She stopped as she noticed Kyoka and Tempester raise their guards. ""What is all of this? Lucy what are you doing? I demand answers."

"I'm sorry but it will have to wait for alter. We are busy finishing with preparations." Lucy said politely with a smile. Erza tch'd and walked up toward Lucy but was stopped by Kyoka and Tempester. Kyoka looked at her with a sadistic smirk.

"You hear the princess, you're not wanted here." Kyoka said. "By all means, go and enjoy the party." Suddenly, the room became filled with party guests and Natsu cursed.

"Don't mess with me!" he shouted. "You!" he growled turning his gaze on Mard Geer. Scales began to appear under his eyes and on his cheeks and arms.

"Natsu!" Erza whispered angrily. He and the others had promised to stay in human form sa as not to attract attention. He calmed down as he remembered this and he looked at Lucy.

"Natsu Dragneel." Lucy began with a smile. "Thank you for everything." she then walked out of the room with Mard. Natsu's eyes widened. How did she know his full name? He cursed under his breath.

"Jellal, Gray." Erza said as she eyed the guests and they nodded.

"We know." Gray said as he looked around.

"Get them." Kyoka ordered with a smirk and the guests all turned into demons and began to attack.

"Gihi. No wonder they all reek of death. They weren't even human to begin with." Gajeel smirked.

"Be careful, I sense dark magic in them." Jellal observed.

"Damn it." Gray cursed.

Natsu lowered his fists and unclenched them as he released a breath that he didn't even know he was holding in. "Guys…" he began.

"We know." Gajeel said looking at him with a nod.

"If we all stay here we'll lose the chance to catch Lucy." Gray added.

"It can't be helped." Erza sighed. "I'm leaving Lucy in your care." Natsu nodded and took off after her. Tempester lunged toward Natsu but Gajeel blocked the attack.

"Heh, take care of bunny girl." Natsu nodded and continued on. The others began their full out fight against the enemy. Tempester fought Gajeel and Kyoka, Erza. "I was getting stiff anyway. this'll be a nice stretch." he smirked looking Natsu's way once more before he disappeared, with Happy following.

Gajeel focused his attention back on his fight with Tempester. Erza continued to battle Kyoka while Gray and Jellal fought of the demons. Natsu ran after Mard and Lucy, trailing their scent through the castle halls. He finally caught up with them at the end of one of the hallways. He dashed towards Mard, lighting his fists on fire. He got ready to hit him harder than he'd ever hit anything in his life when suddenly Lucy moved in front of Mard. Natsu froze at the turn of events.

"Get out of the way." He demanded but she didn't move. "If you don't move I'll kill you with him." he said darkly.

"Oh, I don't think you'll go that far Natsu Dragneel." Mard said with a smirk and Natsu glared at him.

"You didn't answer my question." Natsu sneered. "What connection do you have to _him_?"

"What are you talking about?" Mard asked with fake curiosity.

"Don't mock me human! Why is his presence here?! He should've died centuries ago. WHY is Zeref's scent present in this castle?!" Mard simply smiled and began to walk away. Natsu growled in anger and charged at him but again Lucy blocked his advance.

"Natsu…" she said softly. "Please...don't hurt him."

"Don't…" Natsu grit his teeth. "Don't talk like that." he said as he lowered his head, his bangs covering his eyes. "Don't you DARE talk with her voice! Don't stain her name!" he roared at her, confusing both her and Happy. "What, you think I'm stupid?! You think I couldn't tell my Lucy from this thing?! I could tell from halfway around the world that you're not her!"

"What do you mean?" she asked with a tinge of anger in her voice.

"Tch. Your scent. It reeks of death." he said making Lucy speechless. "Plus I never told her my full name. No one knows it." _Except the dragons._ He eyed Mard who had stopped walking away, looking over his shoulder back at Natsu. "You're not my Lucy!" he glared at her. "You smell exactly like the guests at the party."

"No way…" Happy said softly.

"Hahaha." Mard laughed. "It seems that our little dragon here has brains after all." Natsu's eyes widened.

"You...You know about the dragons existence? H-How…" he was cut off by Mard's sigh.

"We'll talk about it later. Now I have things that I need to get ready for." Mard said walking away once more. Take care of him." he waved towards Lucy.

"Yes master." she replied turning her attention on Natsu again making him curse.

"You know you can't beat me." he said looking at her.

"True. But I also know you can't bring yourself to hit me...or rather the form of this person." she smirked. Happy looked on, getting worried by the situation. If that wasn't Lucy...then where was the real Lucy? He looked at Natsu. He was worried about him too. He knew Natsu wouldn't be able to hurt anything resembling her. Not anymore.

Gildarts found the trip through the caves to Tenrou Island much faster and much less exhausting this time around. He still didn't exactly know his way around but following Sting and Rogue made it seem like a five minute trip to get to Tenrou. As soon as they exited the caves they summoned their wings and took to the sky. Pantherlily grabbed a hold of Gildarts and flew him across with the rest of the group. Not long later they landed in the middle of the village much to the surprise of the other hybrids and dragons. Grandeeney and Atlas asked them what was going on and where the others were. Sting and Rogue proceeded to tell them everything that had transpired and what the others were currently doing. When they finished they noticed the dragons share a look with each other which surprised them, they expected more of a reaction.

"What's going on?" Rogue asked.

 **Heartfilia Castle**

"I can't believe im doing this." Levy sighed loudly.

"It's kind of exciting though right?" Wendy asked. She wondered what Carla would say. The white exceed already didn't like the idea of Wendy being without her but in the end she couldn't stop Wendy from helping.

"Seriously?" Cana huffed in annoyance. "Out of all places...we end up here…"

They were crawling through some pretty dirty places and she wasn't happy about it. Levy knew a lot of secret passages and whatnot since she helped Lucy sneak out a lot. When they were younger they spent a lot of time exploring the castle and its grounds too. For not having grown up in the castle Levy knew a lot about it, probably even more than the King himself did.

"Couldn't you find a cleaner place to crawl?" Cana asked.

"Sorry, it can't be helped." Levy said. "This is the fastest and safest way to the King's chambers." she replied showing her own annoyance at their predicament. She suddenly stopped and then was pushed forward some as everyone bumped into each other. Laxus growled in annoyance. "Shhh." she said as they muttered in annoyance. "We're here."

She reached over and gently pushed open the hidden door that led from the small passage in the walls to the room. She peeked out and looked around quickly, not seeing anything. She breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the door open more and exited, the others following behind her. Laxus whistled once they exited into the luxurious looking room, or rather closet, it looked like. The room was full of different kinds of royal clothing, from garb he'd wear to official meetings to things that he might wear in the comfort of his own room.

"Sorry, but the King is gonna freak when he sees you." Cana said eyeing Wendy. "Even with your coat on, it's pretty obvious you...have extra features." Cana tried to be tactful and Wendy giggled.

"It's no problem." she said shifting into her human form as the others looked on wide-eyed. "All of us hybrids can do this." she smiled and Levy rushed over to her.

"Really! That's so interesting!" ever the bookworm and curious person that she was, Levy wanted to know everything.

"Not now Levy." Cana said. "We have to finish what we came to do. Talk later." Levy pouted but nodded at her friend.

"Fine. Come on, this way." Levy told them heading for the door. The group walked out quietly into the bedroom.

"So this is the king's room." Cana said softly as they began to look around. "It sure is huge."

"And sparkly." Wendy added.

"Pfft no shit." mocked Laxus.

"No way." Levy said.

"What?" they asked.

"The king. He's not here. I don't get it, the guards said he was resting in his chambers." she said putting her hands on her head seemingly at a loss.

"If he's still here then he's gotta be in the throne room right?' Laxus smirked. "So we go there. Take us Levy."

They began to walk back the way they came to head for the throne room. Laxus paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing. Something definitely felt off. He grimaced and continued following the girls. Levy guided them through the secret passageways again until they finally made it to the throne room. She let them know they had arrived and she slowly slid the door open. The passageway was wider here and allowed all of them to peek out from behind the trap door. It was above the throne but they couldn't see it. Laxus told Wendy to climb onto his back and grab on while he forced the door open completely. He grabbed Levy and Cana in his arms and jumped out. The two girls squeked in horror as they fell and Laxus landed smoothly with them on the ground.

"That was dangerous!" Levy yelled as he set them down.

"I don't mind a bit of action." Cana smiled.

They remembered where they were and began to look around. The throne was empty and the rest of the room seemed to be empty also. They began to look around for signs of...well, anything but found nothing so far.

"And what if someone had been in here." Levy glared at Laxus. "We could've been caught before completing our mission."

Laxus ignored her comment and continued searching as the others did the same. He walked around and eventually made his way to the door. He sighed and reached for the handle. Levy saw the action from across the room but before she could say anything he was already turning the handle. The door swung open and revealed castle guards. One of the guards frowned at them and began to walk toward them with his arms crossed. He seemed a little more fit than most guards and was a middle aged man. He had long sideburns that lead to his sharp beard. His hair also went up to two points on the sides. He wore a dark brown short sleeved shirt, that was open and trimmed with beige fur. His light brown pants had a dark hem and an orange-brown band circled his waist.

"Who are you and how did you get in there?" he asked making Levy whine and Cana went over and grabbed Wendy protectively.

"You should introduce yourself before asking." Laxus smirked.

"The name is Torafuzar."

"Laxus Dreyar." his smirk widened. "I'm a mage from Fairy Tail." he said cracking his knuckles and neck preparing for the fight that was about to take place.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! As always please comment/review and let us know what you think!**

* * *

 **Tenrou** **Island**

"What do you mean you expected this?!" Sting asked the dragons.

"I don't understand…" Rogue added.

"Like we said, we had a hunch about what happened to Lucy.' Grandeeney explained.

"We felt the barrier weakening."

"Something or someone must have infiltrated the island and taken her. For us not to notice...they must have used stealth magic." the light dragon added.

"Stealth magic? What? You mean they snuck in and just took her from under our noses?!" Sting asked annoyed and the light dragon nodded. "Then why didn't you say anything?! Natsu-san was going mad cuz of this…" he said lowly, angry that he couldn't do more to help.

"We didn't betray Natsu. When we heard Lucy was missing we investigated the barrier and the pulse. You all left before we were able to say anything." the shadow dragon explained.

"What rat infiltrated our barrier?" Zirconis sighed loudly. "How did they even do so? This was no amateur that's for sure. To pull this off requires skill, a lot of it."

"Whoever it was wanted the princess for a specific purpose. They not only infiltrated our grounds but they found the island just to get to her." Grandeeney said with concern. "We should help get her back. Even if some of us still don't like the humans, you have to admit Lucy never brought harm to us and even tried to learn our ways and make peace with us." the hybrids and dragons nodded in agreement. Carla grit her teeth and clenched her fists, walking forward.

"No! You can't" everyone turned their attention to the female exceed. "I've had visions of the future. You probably won't believe me but I've had small visions of the future before. At first I didn't know what they were but over time I learned and was able to gain some control over them. I kept my visions of the future to myself since it was never really anything important. But now something terrible is going to happen and I have to tell you about this. A battle is going to be coming to us. A terrible one. Lucy Heartfilia is at the center of it and she will bring the downfall of the dragons. Don't rescue her! She will betray you just as the Heartfilia's did in the past."

"No way. Lucy-san wouldn't do that." Lector said wary of the revelation.

"Yeah, Lucy is nice. She plays with us." Frosch said as the dragons looked at Carla calmly.

"What?! You don't believe me?!" she cried.

"No child. That's not it. We believe you." Grandeeney said softly. "We already know about the battle."

"T-Then w-why are you...all calm? Why won't you do anything about it?" she said sadly. "At this rate…" she sobbed. "A-at this r-rate y-you'll…"

"It's been ten years now." Grandeeney sighed softly. "Ten years ago you exceed were brought before us when you were still just eggs." the exceeds perked up at hearing this. "Your queen, Shagotte, brought you before us and said that she had seen a glimpse of their future. She said the exceed tribe was going to perish and she begged us to take you, raise you and protect you. In exchange she offered us a warning for the future...She told us of an upcoming battle and that we would once more face the humans. She didn't see clearly what caused this but she knew that humans, dragons and a third unknown party would be involved. She said our purpose would finally be fulfilled."

The hybrids and exceeds were awestruck at the information they had just received. Never before had this been told to them. Sting and the other hybrids thought back to that day ten years ago when the dragons had gathered them all together. They were told that they were going to be given presents and were shown the eggs. Each hybrid got to pick an egg that they would watch over, hatch and then protect as their future companions. The hybrids had all been excited, it was how they got their cat companions. The hybrids hatched them and they all became family.

"We all knew a battle was coming but we didn't know it was centered on the Heartfilia's once more." Atlas Flame said.

"Either way our decision remains the same. We will help the humans." Grandeeney said with finality.

"Seems we're all on the same page then." Gildarts smirked as he walked forward.

"What are you talking about human?" Sting asked as they all eyed him.

"I'm apologize for my earlier behaviour." he said bowing before the dragons. "My name is Gildarts Clive. I'm from a magic traveling guild called Fairy Tail. A few months ago we received a request to find the dragons and aid them however possible. Fairy Tail is at your service."

"Ah yeah? How are we supposed to believe that?!" Sting roared but Gildarts ignored him and kept his eyes locked on the dragons. They sensed no deception in the serious face of the man before them.

"You're a brave man." Atlas said. "I like that in a person."

Gildarts smirked. "We all have to brave in order to survive." he turned his head slightly and put a hand over his ear. "Right on queue." he smirked after a bit. "It seems there's a situation over at Heartfilia Castle."

"How did you know that?" Rogue asked mirroring the other hybrids confusion. The dragons looked at each other and nodded as if they knew.

"Telepathy magic." Zirconis said and Gildarts nodded. "Haven't seen that in ages."

"We have a member that can use that form of magic. Since the barrier is weak I guess he can contact me." Gildarts acknowledged. "Heartfilia Castle is under attack. The King is missing and they still haven't heard from Natsu or know where the princess is. Fairy Tail is already there helping but they're short handed. I'll have to go join them." he bowed once more to the dragons and then turned to leave. He didn't get very far when he suddenly stopped. "Think someone could take me cuz i can't fly." he said as turned slightly, looking over his shoulder at them. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at them sheepishly. Make the situation here more comical with Gildarts "Oi old man don't worry about that." Sting said after a collective sigh. "We're coming too." he crossed his arms with a smirk.

"If Sting's going I'm going too." Rogue announced. "I don't care what you humans want to do but Natsu is out there so I'm going out there to support him." the hybrids agreed and summoned their wings.

"Sting-san we're going ahead." one of the hybrids said as few summoned their wings and took off.

"As impatient as ever." Zirconis chuckled. "Heh, guess it's my time to go out too. It's been centuries since I've left this cage." he smirked and took to the sky.

"I'm worried about Natus. I'll go too." Atlas Flame said as he and a few more dragons and hybrids took off with them. Grandeeney and the rest of the dragons stayed behind with the few remaining hybrids.

"Guess it's our turn." Sting said summoning his wings.

"Right." Rogue nodded.

"I'm coming too." Carla said. "I'm not leaving Wendy alone any longer."

"And I'm worried about Gajeel." Lily said.

"We're in!" Lector announced and Frosch nodded.

Four figures stood atop one of the mountains surrounding Tenrou Island. They looked down at the island in the distance, eyeing it like prey. They could see things flying away from the island, something that would only make their mission easier. One of them stepped forward toward the edge of the cliff. He had long dark blond hair that reached his shoulders and covered the left side of his face. He had two cat-like ears on top of his head and furry tail that swayed back and forth. The man whistled as they watched the group of hybrids and dragons leave.

"Will you look at that? All those pests are finally getting out of our way." Jackal smirked.

"Ghiahahaha who the hell cares! Let's go kill all the little flies now!" Zancrow said sadistically as he crouched down, his long blonde hair blowing in the wind. His yellow and dark blue armor exposed the right side of his chest showing a tattoo. I'm itching for some fresh blood." The man next to Zancrow said nothing as he stared at the island. Azuma was tall and muscular having thick brown hair that jutted out in all directions. Long sideburns lead to a goatee. A dark streak ran over his eye and he wear round crescent earrings.

"Gehe we don't have to rush there just yet." Franmalth said with his usual cheerful grin. He was by far the shortest in the group and his one eye was wide with excitement. His body was adorned with various paintings and a a necklace hung around his neck.

"What are you talking about? Have you forgotten we're supposed to go in and kill those dragon pests." Zancrow said in annoyance. "Doesn't matter if we go now or later. Their dead either way. Long as we accomplish our mission."

"Hold on there." Jackal sighed. "We have to respect the timetable Mard-sama gave us. There's a plan in place for a reason." Zancrow rolled his eyes as Jackal continued and jumped down heading for the island.

"And there goes Zancrow." Franmalth said under his breath.

"So we can't just go down there-what the-" Jackal twitched as he turned to where Zancrow was supposed to be and found the spot empty.

"Gehe he's already gone." Franmalth said pointing in the direction he had gone.

"That idiot!"Jackal growled.

"Well can't be helped. Might as well make our move now." Azuma said as he proceeded to jump his way to the island.

"This is why I didn't want to hire assassins." Jackal sighed angrily slapping a hand to his face. "Were more than enough for this I don't know why Mard-sama wanted them."

"Gehehe why use our own men when we can use the remnants from Grimoire Heart?" Franmalth smiled. "I hope they do their job correctly, even if they are just sacrificial pawns to hide Mard's real plans." Franmalth laughed as he too jumped toward the island. Jackal shrugged and jumped down with their army of shadow monsters.

Mard's Castle

Natsu shoved Lucy out of the way and charged toward Mard. He lit his fist on fire and jumped toward him, swinging it. Lucy moved in front of Mard and Natsu struck hard. He and Happy's eyes widened as she was engulfed in flames. She fell to her knees and looked up at a stunned Natsu, a smirk spreading across her lips.

"You did this. You did this to me Natsu." She chanted. "You killed me. You killed me Natsu."

She broke out into sadistic laughter which morphed into screams from the pain of being burned alive. Natsu stood there wide eyed and frozen in place. His chest aches and he felt his throat closing up as her screams pierced his ears. He felt sick, his stomach churning, like he would throw up. He watched as she screamed and burned, her skin melting from his fire and his body began to shake. His blood felt like ice and he broke out in a cold sweat that no amount of fire or heat could melt. Her screeching morphed into something unnatural and her form shifted to something otherworldly as her skin burned and melted off of her before she dissipated. Mard saw the state Natsu was in and smirked before turning to leave. Natsu's knees felt weak and his body trembled. The sick feeling inside him intensified and it felt like someone's hand was in his chest, their hand wrapped around his heart and squeezing hard. He dropped to his knees as her words rang in his head. He fell forward, his hands handling him from completely dropping to the ground. Happy began to snap out of his haze and recover from the shock.

"It wasn't her Natsu." He said waking up to him, his voice startling Natsu. "She wasn't real…" he could hear his voice trembling summoning all the courage he could to talk. Natsu turned and looked at Happy with an expression he'd never seen before it. Fear. Dread. Natsu fought to catch his breath. "She wasn't real. It wasn't Lucy! It wasn't our Lucy Natsu!" He cried and Natsu lowered his head. His hair drenched with wear left it falling forward. He panted and tried to gain control as he let Happy's words sink in. The heavy breathing and panting began to slowly subside. Natsu inhaled deeply and a small smile spread on his lips.

"Heh, you're right buddy. That wasn't our Lucy." He said standing up. "Lucy isn't like that at all." He said angrily. Happy flew up in the air and Natsu patted his head. "Don't worry buddy I won't let this get to me." Happy nodded with tears still in his eyes. "Come on let's go."

Natsu and Happy took off down the hall heading back toward the others. Erza and them were still caught up in battle fighting the 'wedding guests'. During the fight Kyoka and Tempester switched places with two of the shadow creatures, making them engage in battle with Erza and Gajeel. Erza blocked an attack and looked to see the two knights leaving. Gajeel growled knowing they wouldn't be able to pursue them right now. As she defeated another group she turned to see Natsu and Happy headed toward them but no Lucy. She frowned at the turn of events.

"Where's-" she began but stopped at seeing the look on his face. Not much kept her from speaking her mind but she didn't dare speak right now. Natsu casually walked through the crowd of monsters and dodged their attacks with an ease and casualness that was eerie. He walked past Erza and the others and Happy explained what happened.

"Tch I had a feeling." Gajeel frowned. "Lucy's smell was off too."

"Does his cruelty have no bounds?" Jellal asked as he, Gray and Erza lowered their heads. Erza let out a soft growl of frustration and stepped toward Natsu but was stopped by Gajeel.

"I wouldn't do that." He said in warning as he let go of her shoulder.

Natsu stopped walking, his backs to them and his head lowered. His pupils turned into slits as he clenched his fists. His skin along his forearm and from his ankle up to his mid thigh began to show scales. Some scales showed beneath his eyes and he let out a fiery huff. The cloak he had been wearing burned away and his horns protruded from the sides of his head. He sent a strong fire roar forward down the hall and out to the courtyard. The others raised their arms to shield them from the intense heat. The first scorched the walls and cracked them making parts of it crumble. The fire disintegrated all of the remaining demons and anything else instantly. Not a thing was left standing before him. Gajeel smirked at the display of power. He must've been really pissed but he still held back some. The others looked on wide eyed at what they had just witnessed. They were busting their asses fighting and he took them out with one attack.

"Lucy isn't here." He said darkly. "I tried to pick up her scent but there's no trace in the whole castle. Mard is gone too." He said and suddenly his wings sprouted forth. "It's time to go."

"Tch what was the point of this trap?" Gray asked.

"To waste our time." Jellal said. "There's something else going on here than a simple marriage. Whatever this is it's not good."

"Then let's not waste anymore time here." Erza said sternly and Natsu took off flying out.

"Finally." Gajeel smiled as he ripped off his cloak and shifted into his hybrid form.

Gajeel grabbed Erza and Happy grabbed Gray and they took off following Natsu. Jellal used his magic to enhance his speed and run after them. Natsu had a bit of a head start but they were able to close in on him as they made their way back to Heartfilia Castle.

Heartfilia Castle

Torafuzar crossed his arms in front of him making an X just as Laxus struck him. The force of the hit sent him sliding back a few feet. Laxus sent a lightning attack at him but he rolled out of the way dodging it. He charged Laxus and swung and kicked. Laxus blocked the hits but Torafuzar managed to land a kick and sent Laxus flying backwards. Laxus quickly recovered as Torafuzar jumped at him and he managed to grab his leg and toss him to the side.

Meanwhile the girls were dealing with the guards that turned into shadow creatures. Wendy hurtled a wind attack at then slicing some of the monsters up as Cana and Levy stood behind her. They were in awe at the power the little hybrid displayed. Wendy turned and let out an wind roar attack while Levy smiled at watching her in action. As more shadow creatures appeared Wendy pulled off her cloak and shifted into her hybrid form. Levy couldn't help but let out a swirl of delight at witnessing the transformation. Wendy let out another roar and sent another wind attack after it dissipating the creatures.

"You're doing good there chibi girl." Laxus smirked blocking another hit as he eyed the little hybrids attacks.

"Thanks." Wendy smiled brightly as she dispatched another shadow monster. "I'll do my best to help." She smirked.

Wendy moved for another attack but tripped and fell face first onto the floor. The others were dumbfounded. For that to happen after her 'big talk'. She let out an 'ow' as she began to get back up. Two of the shadow creatures made it past her much to her dismay. She wa supposed to be protecting Cana and Levy. Wendy jumped and turned toward them just in time to see Levy and Cana attack. Levy called it out and pointed her hand at one of the creatures. The word 'Thunder' appeared and was sent flying at the creature and a bolt of lightning hit it. Cana pulled out a card with a drawing of a fountain on it and threw it on the ground in front of their attackers. Beams of watered sprouted forth and hit the creatures. The combination of the water and lightning attack killed the creatures and made them disintegrate.

"Oh yeah!" The girls high fived as Wendy watched in surprise.

"We may have learned a few magic tricks awhile ago." Levy explained.

"That was amazing!" Wendy said clapping her hands together. "I've never seen magic like that before."

"Thanks. It's the first time we've been able to use it like that." Cana smiled along with Levy.

"Since you can use magic, now you can get off your asses and help Wendy fight." Laxus said as he kicked Torafuzar into a wall. The girls frowned and turned to him.

"We're not soldiers!" Levy pouted. "Sorry, Wendy. Not that-"

"It's okay." Wendy smiled.

"Tch this is taking too long." Laxus growled blocking another attack.

Somewhere In A Dark Room

Lucy sat with her back up against a wall. Her legs were pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. She had her face buried in her knees as she sobbed. She pulled the sheet tighter around her and longed for a warmth that she missed severely. She longed to feel his arms wrapped around her, his breath on her skin as he held her close.

"Don't give up." A soft voice said. "Don't give up Lucy." It said again and Lucy looked up slightly and saw a pair of small feet and blonde hair that almost reached the ground. She looked up further and saw the blurry figure of a young girl. "Don't give up."

"Who-" Lucy mumbled.

"They're waiting for your call." She said kindly. "They always have."

The image of the girl became clearer and Lucy looked into the young girls green eyes. Her wavy blonde hair cascaded down past her shoulders accenting her peachy complexion. She wore a pink layered robe and had a red ribbon tied in a bow around her neck. She wore wing like adornments around her head which at any other time Lucy would've found cute.

"Who are you?" She whispered slowly and the girl smiled.

"Mavis." The girl said softly. "My name is Mavis Vermillion."

"Mavis…" Lucy whispered as if testing her name. She didn't know why but it felt...nostalgic.

"Call them. Look deep inside your heart and call out their names." She said pointing at Lucy and she clenched her heart.

"Who...wha-" Lucy began but then the girl vanished and Lucy's eyes widened. "Wait!" She cried out but it was as too late. Lucy leaned back against the wall once more. "Natsu...guys…" I wanna get out of here. I wanna see them. I miss them. I miss him. She thought to herself. I want Natsu. She hugged her legs to her chest tighter and began to sob as her mind filled with thoughts of him. "Please...somebody...help…" she sobbed in a pained voice.

She cried to herself as feelings of emptiness and loneliness filled her. Her chest tightening and her heart aching. She longed for Natsu's presence. His reassurance that he was there. She was prisoner sure but...what they shared...it couldn't have just been that simple anymore. She ached to see him again. Lucy continued to cry when a soft light caught her attention. She lifter her tear filled eyes and saw the ground change into a beautiful night sky full of stars.

"What…" she mumbled softly at the unbelievable change.

As Lucy looked closer she realized it really was the night sky or some kind of reflection of it. Lucy watched in awe as the stars glittered beneath her feet, some seemingly shining brighter than the others. She began to recall things that her mother told her and taught her about the stars. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized that these were the constellations her mother had taught her and that she had come to love. She began to make out the different constellations, moving her fingers to trace invisible lines outlining them. She gasped as the lines she was tracing turned golden. She moved forward and on her knees and began tracing the other constellations until she had done all 12 zodiacs. Each constellation then changed into the symbol of its zodiac. She knew the name of each of them by heart.

"Leo…" she said softly eyeing one of them.

The symbol shone and a bright light flashed. Suddenly a male form was standing before her. He wore black and gold armor with a blue cape and the Leo symbol etched on the front skirt. He had short spiky brown hair that went out in all directions with a few strands framing his face. He seemed to have cat like ears on his head and his eyes were hazel in color.

"Uh who are you?" Lucy asked as she held her sheet tighter around her.

"I'm Leo, leader of the 12 zodiac gates." He told he. "Thanks for summoning me. It will be a pleasure to serve you master." He eyed her attire or lack thereof and smirked. She was indeed beautiful.

"Uh what's happening?" She said then noticed his gaze. "Hey! Eyes front soldier!" She said holding her sheet tighter around her making doubly sure not to give him a free show. It was only for Natsu...she lowered her head sadly.

"Call Virgo. She can get you something to wear." Leo told her. "Just say open, gate of the maiden: Virgo."

"Open...gate of the maiden: Virgo." Lucy said and a light shone forth and a girl with short pink hair in a maid outfit appeared.

"Hello. Is it punishment time?"

"Uh say what now?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"Oh, who are you?" The girl asked.

"I'm...Lucy. Uh Leo said you could get me some clothes…"

"Certainly. No problem Lucy-hime." Virgo said. "After I get them then will you punish me?"

"What's with the punishment thing?!"

"I need to be punished."

"But why-you know what nevermind." Lucy said not wanting to argue. "Can you please get me something to wear?" She sighed.

"Of course." Virgo said then disappeared and reappeared with a pen clothes. "Now is it punishment time?"

"No!"

Despite having a weird thing for punishment Virgo was actually pretty pleasant. Lucy liked the outfit, it was really cute though she did feel a bit embarrassed at the slight revealing nature of it. It was light blue sleeveless top with a dark blue design on the front and gold trim. There was an attached skirt part that split at the front revealing some very small black shorts,and stopped at about her knees. She wore black thigh highs with boots and had blue sleeve like pieces that were tied with a gold band around her arm and went down to her wrist. She looked at her outfit again. She shifted a bit shyly at the revealing nature of her shorts. Though cute, she may not mind Natsu burning this outfit off of her. Lucy blushed at the thought.

"Thanks again." She smiled at Virgo.

"Is it-"

"No!" Lucy said frustrated. "Now...who are you guys?"

"We're the zodiac keys." Leo explained. "You can use magic. You're a celestial mage after all." Lucy's eyes widened. She could use magic?

"What? Since when? What do you mean I'm a celestial mage?" Lucy asked with excitement. "What can I do? How does this work?"

"Why a hang on. First I'd suggest summoning the other celestial spirits and forming contracts with them." Leo said. "If you do that you can use them to help you escape. You'll get each of their keys to summon them in the future." He said taking his out and handing it over to her and Virgo did the same. "You're in a dimension room. It can only be found and accessed with magic."

"Right. Thanks Leo." She said and Leo nodded. Then he and Virgo disappeared leaving a puff of smoke and sparkles as they faded. "I hope everyone is okay." she said clenching the two keys she had to her heart, filled with new determination. Before they had disappeared, Leo had told Lucy the chant she needed to use to summon each of the other zodiac spirits. "Open! Gate of the water bearer: Aquarius!"


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Sorry guys! I know it's been like forever since we posted a new chapter. It was not our intention at all for this much time to pass. Truth is part of the reason is because we were working on getting ready a special short fic for Halloween. So you guys have something else to look forward to :) But we want to definitely update a little more regularly so we are going to work on that so you guys don't have to wait another long period before the next chapter. in the meantime enjoy and as always let us know what you think!**

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 **Heartfilia Castle**

"Tch." Laxus grunted as he slid back from the punch that was just delivered to him. His arms that were an X protecting his torso lowered as he glared at Torafuzar. He thought back to not long ago when his opponent had transformed.

"You are indeed much stronger than I thought. I underestimated you." Torafuzar frowned.

"Never underestimate a member of Fairy Tail." Laxus smirked.

"Yes, well lucky for you, you get to see my true form now. It will be the last thing you see so take a good look." he said as he began to change his appearance some.

Torafuzar grew more muscular, his teeth growing and becoming sharper. There were two small fins on the side of his head and a webbed fin on top of it. His forearms and hands grew larger and he was now clad in only a pair of dark, baggy pants. Laxus looked on wide-eyed at his transformed enemy. He grit his teeth as he looked around and saw that the girls were still engaged in combat. He was hoping for this to be done with already but it didn't seem to be in the cards. _Tch this is going to take longer than I thought._ He thought to himself. _I feel like we're losing time here._ He dodged and blocked a few more attacks from his opponent and sent a stream of lightning in his direction. _What to do. What to do._

"Yosei Maho!' he heard a voice call out and instantly a few of the demons were killed. Laxus looked over at the brown haired woman with a smirk. She wore her usual get up of a green dress with wings attached to it and navy blue stockings, wearing only white sandals. Her purple fan was pointed at where the enemy used to be.

"Line formation!" a man wearing a dark garment with white stripes, a hood coming up to cover the top of his head, shouted as his flying dolls lined up in midair for an attack. He wore a metal visor that covered his eyes, preventing others from being affected.

"Dark Ecriture: Destruction." Laxus turned his head, still smirking, to see Freed swinging his sword to perform his attack.

Back up had finally arrived. Torafuzar himself had stopped his attacks at the intrusion of the three new additions to the battle. He watched as they dispatched his minions and evened the playing field a bit. They joined Laxus at his side to face on his opponent with him. They all looked over at Laxus and smiled at him.

"Raijinshu." he smirked at them. "Good to see you guys."

"Nice to see you too Laxus." Freed nodded.

"Glad you're alright. We were worried about you." Evergreen said worriedly as she swayed back and forth, her hands on her cheeks.

"Ghahaha me and the baby's were getting bored without you around." Bickslow added, his tongue hanging out.

"That's right...we…" Freed sniffed as if he were beginning to cry. "It was so lonely without you Laxus!" Evergreen nodded in agreement as she pulled out a handkerchief and covered her nose and mouth.

Laxus sighed heavily and rolled his eyes at the commotion they were making. Really? They were in the middle of a battle. Wendy, Cana, and Levy stopped in surprise and looked over at their so called re-enforcements wondering just how hopeful they might actually be. Torafuzar, himself looked on blankly and with disbelief. They thought they would help Laxus beat _him._ Please, from what he's seen they don't stand a chance.

"Re-enforcements? I see." he grinned as if he had already won the battle. Laxus, who was down and resting on one knee stood up and glared at his opponent.

"You guys came just in time." Laxus said. "But the reunions will have to wait for later." his team nodded in agreement as they fixed their attention on Torafuzar. "Just one thing I want to know? Why are you here?" he asked them. "No one has contacted the guild yet."

"While your team was infiltrating the the royal army, members of the guild went into to town and took jobs in the city. We were keeping an eye on things and gathering information." Freed informed.

"We couldn't let you guys have all the fun now, could we?" Evergreen smirked.

"We had become alarmed when the master sensed dark magic coming from the castle grounds." Freed continued. "So we were sent to check."

"We split up to see what the commotion was all about when the guards spotted us." Bickslow added.

"It was quite frightening seeing some of these guards turn into ghoulish monsters." Evergreen pouted.

"Long story short, members of the guild are outside battling and the rest are on their way." Freed finished.

"Hoh, things sure escalated quickly." Laxus smirked.

"Indeed," Freed agreed.

"By the way Laxus, what are these nasty creatures?" Evergreen asked with disgust. "Monsters?"

"Demons, wench." Torafuzar interrupted. "We're demons, not some filthy creatures. From our point of view you're the filthy ones that corrupted this planet." he glared at her. Laxus moved in front of her to keep the attention on him.

"You three get the girls out of here, clear a path so they can get out and find the King." Laxus commanded. "I'll take care of ugly."

They all nodded in agreement and went to help Wendy and the others fight off the remaining monsters. Laxus engaged Torafuzar in battle once again, exchanging blows and attacks. His team fought of the remaining demons, clearing a path for the three girls to get out of the room. They run through the halls of the castle to avoid any more trouble and continue on with their search. The three girls find themselves surprised at the sudden intrusion of a male voice in their heads. They stopped running and looked at each other confused.

"Hey Warren here!" the voice in their heads said. "If you're wondering how I'm doing this I have telepathic magic so that's how you can hear me. Right now, most of the guards have transformed into these creatures and are attacking everyone else, including the royal guard. Fairy Tail members are battling them at the moment." he informed whoever was listening. "Is there anyone there? Can you tell us what the situation is like where your at?"

"Guild?" Wendy asked confused.

"Fairy Tail?" Cana and Levy asked looking at each other.

"But I thought guilds don't exist anymore." Levy said softly more to herself than anyone else.

"No...they do. Very few are scattered across the continent and live in the shadows." Cana said with a frown.

"How do yo-" Levy began but Cana sighed.

"This is Cana. I'm Lucy's fri-no...one of, the princess's close friends." she said introducing herself. Levy's and Wendy's eyes widened in surprise wondering if it was wise to contact those Fairy Tail mages. "Right now, we're inside the castle looking for the king. We had a small party including two of our kingdom's top knights that went looking for the princess a few hours ago but we haven't heard from them yet."

"Cana, right?" Warren said. "Nice to hear from you and thanks for the info. Thanks for replying. I set the connection up to any magic users in the area and within my range."

"Baka! What's you do that for?!" Laxus growled.

"Laxus!" the girls heard a chorus of voices ring out his name in their 'chat'.

"Don't worry about that." Torafuzar said sending more attacks his way. "We don't use magic the way you humans do but we can hijack your link no problem." he smirked as he blocked a few punched from the mage. Laxus tch'd and sent a lightning attack toward him.

"Whoops!" Warren swallowed nervously. "I'll put more magic into the link and try to block out the enemy."

"You better!"

 **Tenrou Island**

"Flame god's bellow!" a voice roared and the group of hybrids and dragon's were cut off by a blast of dark flames preventing their takeoff.

"What's with this magic?" Sting asked as Gildarts and the others dodged the attack.

"It's more...sinister." Rogue observed.

"Ghiahahaha. Look what we have here. Small fires everywhere." Zancrow laughed sitting on a large rock formation above them. A horde of shadow creatures spawned behind him and began to engage the group in battle.

"How did you get here?!" one of the dragons growled.

"What an eerie magic. This is an insult to our teachings!" a green dragon roared.

"So this is what the queen of the exceeds warned us about." the shadow dragon sneered.

"So it seems." the light one agreed.

"Zancrow…" Gildarts grit his teeth as he glared at him.

"Huh? This voice…" Zancrow growled turning his attention to Gildarts. "FAIRY TAIL!" he roared angrily and Gildarts smirked.

"Long time no see brat. You doing okay?" Gildarts mocked.

"You bastard!" he yelled hurling fiery attacks at the Fairy Tail mage. "Because of you our guild was destroyed!" he said jumping down and moving to attack Gildarts.

"Heh, don't blame your guild for your weakness. Grimoire Hearts was too evil. Once the request showed up to take you out we just couldn't resist." Gildarts retorted as he dodged the attacks.

Zancrow roared and intensified his attacks, being more fierce and destructive. Gildarts skillfully dodged them or countered them with his magic much to Zancrow's annoyance. Sting and the others watched in awe at the way they battled each other. It was the first time they'd seen different kind of magic at work and it was fascinating to them. A few explosions was all it took to shake them out of their trance. The hybrids scattered, grabbing some of the exceed and moving them out of harm's way. Large pieces of rock fell from where Zancrow had been perched. The explosions splintered trees and caused the dirt to spray everywhere. Sting and Rogue quickly looked around to see where the source of the explosions were coming from.

"Who's there?!" Sting roared.

Dust and debris fogged the air making it a bit difficult to see but it was obvious Gildarts battle was still on going. Sting and Rogue continued their search and were caught by surprise and a loud sigh was heard. They caught sight of a shadow walking toward them. Sting and Rogue stayed on guard as the figure emerged from the smoke and dust filled air.

"There goes our plan for a sneak attack." he sighed again.

"Who are you?!" Rogue demanded.

"Hn?" the creature tilted his head at them. "Hoh, look what we got here." he smiled turning his attention to to the dragons and ignoring Sting and Rogue. His smirk grew, showing his teeth. "It's been a while." the dragons growled deeply at seeing him.

"You little wretch how are you still alive!" one of the dragons roared.

"I could've sworn Igneel burned all of you to ashes!" a rock dragon with large jagged stones covering his back roared. Jackal's smirk intensified opening his mouth to show off his razor sharp teeth menacingly.

"Such a mean thing to say here at our reunion." he laughed darkly sending shivers through Rogue and Sting and the exceeds who were looking on.

"Who would have thought that the third party involved in this war would be our old foes." Grandeeney said before looking towards the hybrids. "Please, everyone be careful. These are demons and they don't use magic. They use curses and so have the ability to curse your very being."

"D-demons…" Sting gulped, a small sweat breaking on his forehead. "These are…" he eyed Jackal wearily.

"Oi, Sting you okay?" Rogue asked looking at his friend with concern. Sting began to laugh as a smirk spread across his lips.

"No...I'm quite thrilled." he said. "Oi demon!" he shouted and Jackal turned to look at him. "Curses? Now things are getting interesting. Show me your power!" he yelled getting into a battle stance.

"Heh, you think a pitiful hybrid like yourself can take out a full fledged demon?" Jackal mocked turning his attention to Sting fully.

"Why don't we find out who really is the pitiful one, demon?" Sting bumped his fists together summoning his light power. "I'm all fired up!" he smiled as he charged Jackal.

"Would you stop copying Natsu?" Rogue muttered as he followed after Rogue to attack their opponent.

"What are you guys doing standing there all defenseless?!" the four exceeds heard a voice call out to them.

They turned to see a yellow cat with orange hair and a rather large head doing various poses. He wore a blue coat and a red hat. He drew his sword and continued posing as if it were supposed to inspire them and move them to action.

"Nichiya!" the exceeds shouted.

"Everyone come on! Let's get to a safer place. We've already evacuated the other exceeds." another voice said joining them.

They turned to Nadi, a black exceed who had a large rectangular head and rectangular tail. He wore a black jacket and a pair of dark yellow pants. They nodded in understanding at him and followed the two exceeds. Carla and Lily however, remained behind. Carla was worried about Wendy and Pantherlily wanted to help the hybrids fight to protect their home. Nichiya nodded in agreement and told them to be careful. Pantherlily grew in size to help battle the demons off.

"Wendy, Happy...everyone….be careful." Carla whispered as she clenched her paws.

 **Outside Heartfilia Castle**

"Tch how come there are so many?" a man with dark hair and a long brown coat and pants asked. A bullet whizzed right past him on the right taking out the demon near him.

"Careful there honey." A woman with long green hair, clad in just a dark bikini top, vest and skirt said as she blew the smoke from the barrel of her rifle. "Don't get easily distracted on the battlefield." she winked.

"Bisca!" Alzack smiled at his wife.

She ran up and joined him, standing back to back with him as they shot expertly at the enemy. One by one they took out various shadow creatures as the battle waged on all around them. It had taken less than thirty minutes for all of Fairy Tail's members to reach the castle grounds and engage the enemy hordes in battle. It sure left the royal guards confused but they weren't about to turn away help in dealing with whatever it was they were dealing with.

"Water slicer!' a young girl with wavy blue hair shouted as she sent the attack to get rid of some of the creatures. "Are you guys okay?" she asked the guards who were trapped under the demons. They looked up at here confused and surprised but simply nodded. "Juvia will take care of these! Please move somewhere safe. This is not a fight for non magic users!" she shouted and then turned her attention back to the enemy.

"Alzack is right." a girl with short white hair huffed, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her paw. "Just how many of them are there? And where are they even spawning from?" the small feline ears on her head twitched, her tail swaying back and forth. She wore a white tiger striped bikini. She stood with her claws out as she wiped more sweat away. Suddenly, a beam of light hit the creatures that were surrounding her.

"Don't let your guard down Lisanna!"

"MIra-ne!" she smiled up at her sister who was in her Satan soul form. Dark thin markings appeared on her body and she was clad in flat, square shaped scales, a revealing one piece like swimsuit was her attire. A thick tail and dark wings help complete her look.

"MAN!" the girls heard Elfman yell and turned to see their large brother through the demons away from them with a his beast arm.

"Brother is always the same on the battlefield." Lisanna giggled.

"True." Mira smiled. "But Lisanna and Alzack are right. There's too many of the enemy. No matter how many we defeat there's always more."

Mira looked over the battlefield and saw some of the guards retreating away. Some stayed to fight alongside her guild members but they were still outnumbered. Fairy Tail had roughly 20 members. Two of them however, their master and a healer named Porlyusica, were semi-active. She was a grumpy old woman but it was good to have a healer with them especially for times like these.

"This isn't good." Mira muttered worriedly.

"Move it! Move it!" a roar came out of nowhere. "Out of the way humans!"

The battles seemingly stopped at the interference of a third party. Everyone looked around for the source and their eyes widened as they finally looked up to see dragons flying above them. The next thing they knew the dragon opened his mouth and sent a roar to destroy the enemy surrounding the area. Unfortunately, the landscape was also ripped apart and rearranged at the force of the roar. The dragon landed on the ground in front of the stunned Fairy Tail members and roared in victory. He had a patterned body and narrow head, with two huge spines that came out of his chin and forehead and curved inward toward each other almost touching his mouth.

"Oi oi. Take it easy there. We don't wanna go crushing the humans too." Zirconis said landing also.

"That's right we promised to help them not crush them." Levia, another huge dragon said as he landed. He had four limbs and a beard on his chin. His body was covered in what appeared were fish fins protruding from the sides of his limbs, back and head. His skin also looked more like the scales of a fish's.

"Hey I called out for them to move out of the way."

"Which is very rude. You can't just say 'hey move'."

Zirconis sighed as the two dragons began to bicker. Meanwhile, the hybrids and other two dragons that were part of their group landed around them much to the growing surprise of the humans. The hybrids ran off and began to engage the remaining creatures in battle excited for the exercise. The humans continued to look on in amazement realizing that apparently they had just gotten backup.

"Y-You kidding me? D-D-Dragons?!" Warren shouted finally. "Unbelievable! They really exist!"

"Hmph. seems that request wasn't fake after all." Bisca smirked with Alzack nodding in agreement, a smile on his face.

The other Fairy Tail members looked on in awe and cheered. The fighting dragons paused their fighting at hearing the cheering. They looked at each other bewildered. A smile grew on their faces as they looked back at the cheering humans. They weren't sure what to expect after showing themselves after all this time. This was indeed a pleasant surprise.

"Such a weird race." the Scissor Runner dragon smirked.

"Oi pops! Let's go crush some demons!' his hybrid shouted.

"Hmph." he smirked. "That's right...and I'm sensing a greater power...we're going to have some fun after all."

 **Dark Room/Corridors**

"Just...how long is this place?!" Lucy huffed as she ran, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the dark corridors. "And there's hardly any light here." she whined, stopping to catch her breath. "Haah, still a bit sore…" she blushed. "...and hungry. They hardly gave me anything to eat."

Lucy looked around and her surroundings seemed unchanged. All she could see was the dark, long corridors that were seeped in shadows. This place was like a maze and she was aimlessly traversing it with seemingly no end in sight. She was thankful for the few torches on the wall that produced the dimmest of light. She looked at the torch nearest her, her eyes focusing on the flickering flame. She felt a tugging at her heart and tightness in her chest, a twisting in her stomach that wasn't from the hunger. She looked on sadly at the small flame, her thoughts going to Natsu. What was he doing now? Was he okay? Was he angry? Was he worried? Was he looking for her or….had he just forgotten about…

"No!" she shook her head of her thoughts.

There was no time to stop and think on such things. She wanted to get out and back to Natsu. What happened after that she couldn't dwell on right now. To do get out she had to keep moving, to make progress so she could escape. Composing herself once again she took a few steps before noticing an archway. She cautiously walked towards it and peeked through it, noticing that it lead to lower levels. To get out she had to reach the floor or ground level and from the looks of it she was definitely not there. Judging by her surroundings and from what she had seen she was in a type of dungeon like area. The long halls and the cells, like the one she escaped from where all evidence of this.

She thought of earlier, back in her cell, what Leo had told her. She did what he said and summoned the zodiac spirits and made contracts with each of them. In return, they all gave her their keys just as Leo and Virgo had done. She shivered at the memory of meeting them all. They weren't really what she had expected. Some of the spirits were fine sure but others had...rather interesting...personalities. There was Cancer who always ended his sentences with 'Ebi'. Why? It should have been with 'kani' or something not 'ebi'. Then there was Sagittarius who was always saying 'Moshimoshi' to literally no one. A shy little lamb had appeared. Lucy giggled remembering how cute and sweet she was. She shivered though as her mind moved on to Aquarius. She was too much for Lucy and was definitely scary. She nearly had a heart attack when Aquarius told her she would drown/flush her out of the barrier.

Honestly, the fact they all had...colorful personalities and were different was interesting. After she had met them they all stood in a circle with Lucy and focused all of their magic into destroying the barrier. Leo had warned her that it would eat up a lot of her magic and she would need to rest up and replenish before doing another summon. It was better that she stay under the radar and not engage in any battles. Virgo though supplied her with a specialized whip from the spirit world. When not in use it simply consisted of it's dark brown handle, the lower part covered in studded ornaments with a small blue rope hanging from it, a yellow star shaped pendant attached to it. Lucy smiled as she brought her hand to her hip where the whip was secured to her. She was grateful for her new companion's kindness.

In order to get out she definitely had to avoid going underground. With that in mind she began to walk away but paused when she heard a faint noise. She listened harder for it. It sounded like...a hum. She shook her head trying to ignore it. After all it was probably just her imagination. She took a few more steps before freezing again. It definitely was a humming sound and it probably was coming from underground. Damn her curiosity. She turned around and walked back toward the archway. Her mind screamed at her to get out, that it could be an enemy but her body moved on its own and descended down the steps leading to the lower levels. As she walked down she saw that at the bottom it was pitch black so she took one of the torches off of the wall. She continued her descent and walked in the direction of the humming.

"W-Who's there?" her voice trembled as she held out the torch. The humming stopped at about the same time her heartbeat did. There was nothing but silence.

"Who's here interrupting my beauty sleep?" a deep voice called out.

 _Beauty sleep? Here?_ Lucy asked herself.

"Meeeen~" he hummed and Lucy froze.

That word...that voice...could it be? She hurried forward and moved the torch to light the direction the voice had come from. She stopped when reaching the bars of the cell, the inside partially illuminated. Just enough for her to see a short, stout man with orange hair lying...or more posing it looked like...on the ground. The rectangular shape of his face, the large flat nose and prominent cheekbones, the stubble he kept on his face...there was no mistake.

"Ichiya!" her eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, hello there Lucy-hime." he said rather calmly after turning to face her. "Men."

"Wh-wha-what are you doing here?!" she kneeled down in front of his cell, torch still in hand. He stopped for a minute and brought a hand to his chin as if he were pondering the answer. He eyed the poor girl who was too stunned to do or say anything else.

"Well...that is…" he began and Lucy nodded for him to continue. He began to do a few other poses and hummed once more. "Men." he stopped and then walked toward her, his gaze never leaving her. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Lucy couldn't take it anymore and growled in annoyance.

"Say something already!" she shouted and he took a few steps back.

"Easy there, don't rush me." he cleared his throat. "I could ask you the same thing Lucy-sama." she opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. He was right. Though she didn't want to give him that satisfaction given their current situation. His attitude mixed in with that annoyed her.

"I asked first so I deserve an answer." she said, her impatience getting the best of her.

"Fair enough." he said doing another pose, sparkles all around him. "Men." Lucy's eye twitched, she really regretted coming down here. He put his hands behind his back and stepped closer to her and for once he looked serious. "What I'm about to say is strictly confidential so I want you to promise not to repeat what I say to anyone." he said and she nodded in agreement though slightly annoyed. "After your rejection at Heartfilia castle I felt rather confused." he said as he began to pace back and forth. "I was wondering why a fine woman like you would turn down such a handsome man like myself." Lucy's eye twitched again and he sighed. "Seriously, I was starting to question your taste Lucy-hime. But then it hit me...you must have lowered your standards to have rejected me." he sighed again as he continued pacing. "Seriously, these young maidens shouldn't think so low of themselves and should go for what's good for them." Lucy growled lowly. If she had the ability to use the fire from her torch she would've roasted Ichiya this second. But the thought of using fire made her think of Natsu again which in turn made her sad...again. She shook her head lightly and her grip on the torch tightened as she opted to focus on her anger for this sorry excuse of a person. "So!" he said suddenly turning to face her in one of his poses. "That leads me to here."

"But that doesn't explain anything!" she yelled jumping up to her feet and turning to leave. _That's it! I'm done with this!_

"Ahh wait! Don't leave me here!"

"Hm?" she looked over her shoulder at him, annoyed.

"Ugh...well honestly I came here looking for you." he said in a rushed voice, sweating. She raised an eyebrow at him waiting for him to continue. "At hearing the news that you were to be wed I was curious on who it was you had chosen. S-So we came to the castle to find out." Lucy turned toward him and waited for him to finish. "W-We heard about a wedding taking place at this castle and we became curious...confused…s-so we decided to investigate!"

"What do you mean?" she asked and he sighed, relaxing slightly.

"You're wedding wasn't announced amongst the kingdoms. We had only come to know of it by coincidence. One of knights was in your kingdom spying on y-ahem-I mean doing knightly business." he coughed awkwardly and looked away, Lucy lifting an eyebrow.

 _So he was spying on me to see why I rejected him. What a persistent man._ She frowned.

"So...at the news I grew concerned…" she wanted to comment at that statement when something else occurred to her.

"Wait...my wedding wasn't announced at all?" she asked and he nodded in the affirmative.

"Yes and there's more." he said as she kneeled down in curiosity. He eyed her with a serious look that concerned her. "There is no Mard Geer." she opened her mouth to say something but forze. "And...this place...this castle...was abandoned centuries ago. No one ever lived here after the war with the dragons." Lucy's blood went icy cold and her mind halted at hearing the new information. She stayed there stunned and Ichiya eyed her curiously. "A few of my top knights and myself came with our ship to check this place out when we were taken by surprise. I fell off the ship during the attack and was taken. My knights are probably trying to find me as we speak. It's been two days now and I'm starting to worry. Lucy-hime I know this is a lot for you take in but please I need your help to get out of here!" she was shaken out of her dazed state and she turned her attention back to him.

"B-but I saw him...King Mard Geer...and his knights...a-a-" he shook his head at her.

"Like I said there is no King Mard. That man must be an imposter. For whatever reason he needs you. Perhaps your heritage has something to do with what he desires." he told her and she began to panic. Heritage? Need her? For what could he possibly need her for? What value did she have? , "Lucy-hime please calm down." she looked at him and nodded slowly.

"R-Right...we need to get out of here and find some answers." she stood up and with trembling hands picked up the forgotten torch.

She began to look around for a key to open the cell or something to help break him out. Finally she found a key and ran over to unlock his cell. The metal creaked and scraped against the ground, the sound echoing in the chamber. He walked out and thanked her and she nodded.

"Then let's go! Meeen!" he stated as he spun into a few poses as they made their way toward the exit.

 **Tenrou Island, Cave with the Dragon Pulse**

The green light bathed the cave walls in its pulsing glow. The sound of water dripping echoed through the empty, quiet cave. Suddenly laughter echoed throughout the cave bringing a cold and sinister feel to an otherwise warm feeling cave.

"Ghihihihihi. We're here! We're here! How much will that cost?!" Franmalth asked hopping from side to side, a wicked smile spread across his lips.

"So this is the dragon's treasure." Azuma said looking on at the pulse.

"Ghehehe. That's right! You know what to do, don't you?" Franmalth asked eyeing him. Azuma nodded and raised his hands toward the pulse.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Here's the new chapter, hope you guys enjoy and as always comment/review and let us know what you think! We're always looking forward to reading your thoughts.**

 **Also just wanted to let you guys know that we'e working on a special fic for Halloween so keep your eyes peeled for it!**

* * *

 **Heartfilia Castle**

A loud boom was heard from the castle as one of its walls was cracked open. A large gaping hole in the throne room was made as a figure was sent flying out of it. The figure landed harshly a few feet away from the building. Smoke and a cloud of dust rose from where the hole in the wall was. The figure of another shadow appeared in cloud and jumped out and down to the ground.

"Laxus!" the Fairy Tail members who were near him, beamed at the sight.

"Tch, that guy was pretty tough." Laxus said fixing his coat and dusting it off.

"Laxus! Everything alright?!" Bisca asked.

"Yo, Bisca! Alzack! Yeah all is good. The Thunder Legion is finishing up the remaining creatures in there. They should be joining us shortly."

He walked up to where Torafuzar had landed and stood before him. He looked down at the small crater that had been made by his impact. A low groan could be heard from his opponent and Laxus smirked. Torafuzar managed to look over slightly at Laxus. He breathed heavily but slowly, the pain from the impact and battle overwhelming.

"You're a lot stronger than I thought." he smirked. "But fear not. We shall meet again soon." he added breathlessly.

Laxus grimaced at his words. He was definitely never wanting to fight him again, let alone see him again. Once was enough, on both counts. Looking on, he began to see Torafuzar fading away. A yellow light surrounding him and shining as he disappeared. Bisca and Alzack walked up next to Laxus and watched their foe disappear.

"I-Is he dead?" Is this what happens when we kill them?" Alzack asked, his voice shaking a bit.

"How should I know?" Laxus huffed as he kept eyes on the spot where Torafuzar vanished.

"Well, after we defeat them the demon shadows vanish in smoke so maybe it's the same with these guys." Bisca observed.

"Well, I sure hope so honey." Alzack said pondering it.

Laxus kept silent, a bad feeling rising from the pit of his stomach.

 **Tenrou Island**

"White dragon's roar!" Sting shouted, a bright light formed around his mouth, a beam then shooting forth.

The beam of light headed straight for Jackal but he dodged out of the way just in time. The shadow creatures that were behind him however were taken out. Sting smirked seeing the path he had cleared when suddenly Jackal landed right in front of him. Smirking, he reached out and grabbed Sting's arm, catching him off guard. Sting looked down, slight panic in his eyes as black, rose-like markings covered his body. Jackal jumped back a few steps leaving the hybrid confused. Before he could say anything or react, the demon snapped his fingers. The marked area on Sting glowed brightly until finally exploding, enveloping him in smoke.

"Sting!" Rogue rushed to his side as his partner fell to his knees. "Are you okay?"

"Heh, something like this won't take me out." Sting smirked as he slowly stood up and eyed Jackal. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"You like it? This is the power of my curse. I can make anything I touch explode! Hahaha." Jackal laughed.

"Tch, it's gonna be tricky to take him down." Sting frowned. "Rogue, I'm gonna need your help with this." Rogue nodded and leaned close so Sting could whisper his plan to him.

"Huh? What are you two worms planning now?" Jackal asked annoyed.

Rogue nodded and then vanished in a shadow making Jackal go on alert. He wasn't expecting something like that but it left him intrigued. He looked around to see where the shadow hybrid would pop up but nothing. Jackal turned his attention back to the other opponent who was beginning his next attack. Sting charged Jackal and jumped up in the air.

"White dragon holy breath!" he shouted as he summoned his wings, flying himself higher up.

The breath attack came fast and hard towards Jackal who was looking up at it. He quickly managed to bomb the surrounding areas around him making the two blasts collide. The force of Jackal's explosions helped to dispel some of the force of Sting's attack. Due to the loss in strength and speed Jackal was able to dodge the attack and get out of harm's way much to Sting's chagrin.

"Heh, you're magic is useless against my curse!" the demon smiled proudly.

His smile disappeared when he a dark figure wrap there arms around him from behind. Jackal struggled and tried to turn his head. He was able to barely see Rogue emerging from a shadow and grabbing him tightly.

"Gotcha." Rogue smirked.

"W-What the f-"

"White dragon's claw!" Sting roared, interrupting him.

A sphere of light formed on his right hand as he thrusted it toward Jackal. Rogue held him in place as he squirmed to no avail. He was unable to move and could only watch as the light hit him. A white holy mark appeared on his chest, glowing brightly and Jackal looked down at it with wide eyes.

"What the hell is this?!" he shouted as Rogue released him and backed away. Jackal growled and tried to move but found that he couldn't.

"That symbol will keep you from making any move." Sting smirked.

"A poor copy of my curse." Jackal cursed.

"Like I care about such a thing." Sting said shrugging it off. "And don't mix my holy magic with your demon crap." he said bringing his palms together before separating them, a white light forming between them. "All I needed was for you to stop moving for a second so thanks." he smirked and Jackal gulped nervously. "Holy light!" he shouted and a rapid barrage of successive beams were sent toward the immobilized target.

"Oi oi time out!" Jackal managed to shout before being hit with the heavy attack which sent him flying back several feet and taking him out. Sting smirked and high fived Rogue.

"Well that was fun." Sting said as they walked up to the fallen form of Jackal.

"It seems that fight is over as well." Rogue said nodding toward where Gildarts was.

Zancrow and Gildarts were still fighting though it was obvious who the victor was going to be. Zancrow really stood no chance against the Fairy Tail mage. Gildarts sent him flying as he blasted the area Zancrow was in. Unfortunately he used a bit too much force than was needed.

"Oops." Gildarts said sheepishly as he watched Zancrow body fly high through the sky and landing who knows where.

"I really wish you'd stop causing so much damage around here." Sting sighed. "Who do you think is gonna clean up your mess?" he scowled and Rogue just smiled. Rogue turned back to Jackal and saw him fading away in a yellow light.

"Oi, Sting." he called his partner and he turned around just in time to see Jackal disappearing. They frowned and looked at each other. "I have a bad feeling about this."  
"Me too." Sting nodded.

 **Mard Castle**

The sound of running footsteps echoed through the halls as the two figures ran along them. Running as fast as they could they didn't let up, ever searching for a way out, a way back to Ichiya's guards. Rounding corners and entering rooms. They continued their determined search despite the fact they it seemed like they had been running forever and there was no end in sight.

"How long?" Lucy huffed as she ran.

"Just a little more...men." Ichiya replied.

"You've been saying that for a while now." she said slightly annoyed. Ichiya didn't respond and simply kept up his pace. "We're lost aren't we?!" she asked, stopping and placing her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. All she could hear was a 'men' hum coming from him. Lucy growled softly, a vein popping on her forehead. "I knew it!"

"Calm down, Lucy-hime." Ichiya flinched at her outburst.

Before Lucy could angrily respond they were caught off guard by the sound of laughter. Faint, weird laughter but laughter nonetheless. They looked around and spotted an open door not too far from them. They looked at each other and nodded beginning to head toward the sound. They slowly approached the door and took up positions on either side of it. The door was half opened inward so they cautiously took a peek inside. Inside they saw a laboratory with large upright tubes lining the left and right side of the room and filled with blue liquid. Tentacle like extensions seemed to be attached to the tubes and connecting everything together into some kind of mechanism. They saw a figure dancing among the tubes, the figure was small and had rabbit like ears it seemed. It danced in the dark room that was only illuminated by the glow of the tubes. Lucy looked closer at them and her eyes widened as she saw a shadowy figure appear inside a tube. In the next one she noticed the same thing.

"Just what are those? Meeen." Ichiya asked quietly.

"I don't know but i don't like this. It all has an eerie feeling to it." they heard a loud noise and Lucy wrinkled her nose as it was filled with a hideous smell. "W-What the…" Ichiya blushed as he plunged two fingers into her nose.

"Sorry for this perfume...meeen."

"Don't call it perfume!" she shouted quietly as she realized what the smell was, slapping his intruding fingers away from her.

The dancing figure suddenly stopped and turned it's attention to the door. Lucy and Ichiya froze as the smirk on the figure's face increased. Suddenly the doors flew open and they were pulled inside by some unseen force. They landed with a thud on the floor a few feet away from the figure. Laughter echoed in the room as Lucy looked up at the girl, seeing her features clearly know. It was a young girl with short dark hair and indeed bunny ears on her head. She wore a white fluffy coat over a dark shirt and skirt. A pair of tights and knee high boots completed her look.

"Well, well what do we have here? It seems like we have two little rats that managed to sneak in." she laughed as Lucy sat up on her knees.

"Just what is this place?" Lucy demanded looking at the small girl.

"Welcome to Hell's Core!" she said as if she were welcoming them to a resort or theme park and spun in a circle.

"Lamy." another voice called out causing the girl to freeze. "Stop playing and focus on your duties." the new figure said walking up to them.

It was a woman with long dark hair and two gold horns on the side of her head, pointing upwards. She wore a white band on her hair matching the strap tied around her neck. A beige colored, leopard print kimono was her attire, wrapped around her torso showing off her ample cleavage. A thick yellow ribbon tied at the back, securing the kimono. She wore thigh high socks but no shoes or sandals which was a bit strange. Lucy's eyes widened as she looked at the woman, her body beginning to tremble lightly.

"Oh my. Look what we have here." she began as she looked at the two intruders, smiling when she saw Lucy. "If it isn't Princess Heartfilia. I don't know how you managed to escape your cell but I hope the tale is slightly entertaining." she said with an emotionless smile.

"Eeh? This is the princess? What's she doing here?" she was supposed to be imprisoned!" Lamy shouted waving her body back and forth. "This won't do! She must be sent back!" she said seriously and Lucy grit her teeth.

"Who are you?! And what is all of this?!" Lucy asked as she stood up, grabbing her whip and activating it. Lucy swung it, a compact flow of water making up the rope part. She cracked it against the ground making Lamy flinch wildly.

"You can't be serious. There's no way you can defeat us." Seilah said glaring at her.

"Maybe not but I won't give up!" Lucy said with determination. "I have friends I need to return to! So for them, I'll fight!" she yelled as she went her whip flying at the two women. Lamy was struck by it while Seilah managed to easily dodge the attack.

"Don't space out." Seilah scolded the young girl before turning her attention back to Lucy.

"Damn it! That hurt!" Lamy said rubbing her behind where Lucy's whip had hit her.

Seilah closed her eyes and summoned multiple books forth. She opened her eyes and hurled them at Lucy. The girl swung her whip, smacking some away while she dodged the others. _Thank goodness for Erza and her training. If it wasn't for her I'd be dead by now._ She thought to herself. Her relief was short lived however, when a few more books flew straight at her once again. They were too fast and too close to her that she didn't have time to react. She closed her eyes to await the barrage of pain she was about to experience but nothing happened. After a second she opened her eyes and saw Ichiya's back in front of her. He had moved and covered her, being her shield.

"Ichiya!" she cried out as he dropped to his knees, blood dripping from his wounds.

"I can't let a girl get hit." he said.

"Ichiya!" she called out again as she moved toward him. "You're all hurt! Are you going to be ok?"

"Meen...this is nothing." he said reaching into one of his pockets and pulling out a small vial from his jacket. He popped the cap open and a light smoke surrounded them. Lucy blinked as she felt some of her fatigue fade away and felt her energy returning to her. She also observed that his wounds began healing. "Pain relieving perfume." he explained. "It's a special perfume that heals the wounds of the person bathed in its fragrance."

"Magic user." Seilah said catching on.

"Indeed." he smirked at her.

"Magic user? I didn't know!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly. "That's amazing!" she said as Ichiya stood up and struck a pose.

"Men, even if if it is not my hobby to hurt women, I shall defeat you two."

"Eeh...If I am to be defeated I at least want to be defeated by a handsome man." Lamy said disappointedly.

"Hmm." Seilah huffed sending another barrage of book attacks at them.

"Lucy-hime please leave this to me." he said and she nodded. Ichiya took out another vial and inhaled its fragrance. When he did so, his body size triples and enhanced his muscles. "Power perfume." he said as he charged forward and smashed the books. Lucy found herself cheering for him at seeing his display of power. Maybe with him by her side she could return safely to the others.

"Go Ichiya!"

"Meeeeeeeen." Ichiya charged at Seilah. "Smiling smash!" he shouted but his punch stopped before reaching her.

"What's wrong Ichiya?" Lucy asked confused and Seilah smiled darkly.

"You can't defeat me human. I hold the power of your own tale." she said lifting up her arm. "Now then, go get rid of that little girl, she pointed at Lucy making the girl flinch as Ichiya dashed towards her suddenly.

W-Wha…" she began but before she could say anything else he landed a hit just a few inches away from her. "Kyaaah!' she shouted moving quickly to the side and away from him.

"I-I'm sorry L-Lucy-him...I can't control my body." he said panting.

 _Eh? What does that mean?!_ Lucy began to panic but was distracted, trying to dodge his attacks. "Please stop this Ichiya-san!" she shouted as she tried to dodge his swinging fists. "This is your doing isn't it!" she yelled looking over at Seilah who merely smirked.

"Human tales are boring. Perhaps I should end both of yours." she said as she went another wave of books flying at Lucy. She was unable to fend of both attacks and so was struck by the barrage of books, cuts appearing on her body.

"Kyaah!" Lucy cried out in pain.

"Don't worry, the pain will end soon. Originally we were supposed to keep you alive for a little longer but that won't be necessary anymore.." Seilah said hurling another attack of books at the girl. "Mard-sama intended to use you to rile up that boys emotions some more but by killing you and transforming you into a demon fully under our control sounds much better. We'll make him fight you. Imagine the look on his face." she smirked and Lucy's eyes widened.

"That's a great idea Seilah-sama! After you're done with her then I can play with her body and make sure to mess up her pretty figure. She will look sooo ugly when I'm done with her!" Lamy snickered. "That boy won't even want to touch her."

"W-What do you mean?" she asked from where she was lying on the ground, covered in bloody cuts.

Ichiya ran up to her and swung to punch her but managed to roll out of the way in time. The punch however was so strong that she was hit with the shockwave of the punch. She came to a stop a few feet away and panted trying to catch her breath. She tried to get up but just fell back down. Her body heavy and like her consciousness was beginning to slip away. _N-Not good. At this rate…_ Lucy shook her head trying to gather herself. _N-No there must be a way._ She began to look around the room to find...something...anything. Her eyes widened when an idea began to form in her head. She grit her teeth as she stood up, grabbing her whip.

"Hooh, you can still stand up?" Seilah asked calmly. Ichiya moved to attack Lucy again but she sent her whip flying at him. It wrapped around his ankles causing him to fall hard on the ground.

"Sorry Ichiya!" Lucy managed to unwrap her whip from Ichiya and turned her attention to Seilah. She charged the woman and sent her whip flying at her. "Fleuve d'étoiles!" she shouted but the whip missed making Seilah smile haughtily.

"Where do you think you're targeting?" she asked unimpressed but her expression changed when she saw the smirk on Lucy's face. A cracking noise sounded behind her and she turned around, eyes widening. The end of Lucy's whip was implanted in into the tube creating a large crack. _She aimed for the tubes!_

"Gyah! Not the tubes! They're not ready yet!" Lamy shouted and ran around in circles, panicking.

Water began to leak from the cracks that were made. Lucy tugged hard on her whip and causing them to crack more, and pulling pieces of glass from the tube. Water flowed of it as the glass finally gave way and shattered. Lucy attacked three more tubes causing the to break and shatter also. As the liquid poured out of one of them so did a figure. An incomplete mass of flesh, slid along the ground where the liquid had poured out.

"Jackal!" Lamy shouted, running towards the fallen figure.

Lucy looked on, confused by the sight before her but ultimately ignored the commotion. She looked over and saw all of the liquid that had poured out of the tubes and smiled. While her two opponents were distracted by the mess she had caused, Lucy ran past them toward the liquid. _If I remember right, Aquarius requires water to be summoned. I don't know if this is water or not but it's liquid. It's worth a shot!_ She thought to herself as she pulled out the appropriate key.

"Gate of the water bearer! I open thee!" she began the chant. "Aquarius!"

The sound of a bell rung out and water began to swirl around the key that Lucy had injected into the liquid. The water continued to swirl around as the spirit was summoned forth. It was mermaid with light blue hair and a long blue fish tail. She wore a revealing dark blue bikini top and had golden armlets and bracelets. A gold headband and belt adorned around her waist. She had a dark blue tattoo resembling the Aquarius zodiac sign under her collarbone and held an urn under her right arm.

 _It worked!_ Lucy cheered to herself.

"Tch, already summoning me?" the mermaid glared at her new master, giving an annoyed look and Lucy felt a cold shiver run down her spine. "And not to mention the place you summoned me from." she frowned looking down at the liquid making Lucy sweat-drop. "Just who do you think I am haahh?! Little girl!" she yelled. "How dare you summon me from this liquid! Who knows what was in there!" she said grabbing her urn.

"Geh...maybe Aquarius wasn't such a good idea." Lucy whined. "Should've gone for Leo." she gulped but it was too late now.

Lucy's eyes widened as she watched Aquarius wield her urn, swinging it around. She was completely pissed off and so created a huge wave of water that took all in the room by surprise. The powerful wave destroyed the remaining tubes and anything else that was in the room clearing it. Lamy and Seilah were both washed away along with Ichiya and Lucy, the latter two being washed against the wall. The pressure was too strong for the wall to handle and it began to crack before finally giving way to the torrent.

"Kyaaaahhhh! S-Soooorrrrryyyy!" Lucy cried as she was washed away.

"Meeeeeeennnn."

"Gyaaaah! What is this!" Lamy shouted as she began to drown in the water.

"N-No way…" Seilah grit her teeth. "I got distracted...W-What a failure." she said as she was washed away.

The water flowed and poured out of the room with destructive force. After a bit the water began to calm and recede. Aquarius stood in the room "tch'ing" and mumbling to Lucy about not summoning her. A bright light then shone, encapsulating Aquarius and she disappeared. Lucy and Ichiya had been propelled outside. They laid on the ground feeling dizzy and not really able to move quite yet.

"D-Damn that Aquarius. She could be a bit more gentle." Lucy groaned as she finally managed to get herself up on her feet. She took a step before starting to collapse again, feeling dizzy from the magic loss. Ichiya rushed over and managed to catch her, holding her up. She looked over and realized he was still in his 'big' state.

"Don't worry Lucy-hime, I'm out of her control now. It's ok." he told her and she nodded. "Can you stand?" he asked but they immediately felt the ground tremble.

"What's going on?" she asked in a loud voice so that she was heard above the noise that the violent shaking produced.

"Meeeen" Ichiya said trying to balance itself.

Lucy tried to look around, still on her hands and knees. She crawled a bit forward and her eyes widened at the sight. The area around the castle started to rip itself from the rest of ground. Trees snapped and splintered from being ripped apart as the ground split. The commotion caused the birds to fly away, small streams were cut in half stopping the water flow.

"I don't know, meen." he said as Lucy took off running towards the edge. "W-Waait!' he called after her. Lucy stopped when she reached the edge, her breath caught in her throat.

"No way." she said disbelievingly as a gust of wind blew past her.

The grounds they were on pulled away from the rest of the earth, a small piece being carved out from the ground. They were slowly rising, everything else getting further away and smaller. A huge hole was in the ground where the castle had been stationed. Unbeknownst to them they were on a huge cube-like island.

 **Mard Castle-Control Room**

"Everything is ready Mard-sama." Kyoka announced as she looked up at the large holo sphere that was above the round platform they were standing on. Various computer like terminals wrapped around it with many small video screens displaying security footage and various data.

"Very well then, let stage two of the plan commence." He said and Kyoka nodded in affirmation. She walked over to the main control panel and began to type commands into it. Tempester silently stood by Mard's side and watched.

"All set. Let us begin." Kyoka said with a sadistic smirk as she entered in the last few commands. "Activate: Transportation!" she shouted and multiple magic circles appeared inside the room. Outside, a huge magic circle appeared under the cube island. Lucy blinked as she was shaken from her trance and looked down to see what was happening.

"W-What is that?" she asked as she and the rest of the cube was swallowed by a massive light before finally vanishing.

 **Heartfilia Castle**

"Tch, we've looked everywhere and still no sign of him." Cana huffed in annoyance.

"This can't be it...He has to be somewhere." Wendy said worriedly as she looked over at Levy who seemed to be concentrating on something.

"Maybe… maybe he's in a hidden room or something since we couldn't find him in the dungeons either." she said tapping her finger against her chin.

"Then let's go there!" Cana shouted.

"We can't."

"Why not?!"

"Because I don't know where there is." Levy said. "True, I've snuck Lucy out a lot but we never ventured that deep inside the hidden chambers. He could be anywhere!" Levy shouted back and Cana grit her teeth. Wendy looked at the two girl, their quarrel concerning her.

"W-Wait...maybe if we work together we can find a way for sure." Wendy said raising her hands up, hoping that they'll end their argument. Sadly, the girls didn't seem to let up and so Wendy huffed, walking towards them. Unfortunately, being the clumsy girl she was at times, she tripped and fell startling the two girls.

"Are you ok?" Cana asked with concern when suddenly they felt a shaking around them and the walls began to part. "Hey, looks like Wendy managed to trip a lever." Cana smirked.

"Whooaah! Good job Wendy-chan!" Levy beamed as she watched the walls move and Wendy rubbed the back of her head shyly.

"No problem hehe."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Cana smiled as they walked into the new but dark room that was opened up to them.

"Solid script: Light!" Levy wrote the word 'light' in mid air with her magic, illuminating the dark room. The girls cautiously walked in what seeme like a hall.

"It's kinda creepy in here. Cana said softly and Wendy hugged herself.

The girls stopped when they came to a large door at the end of the room. They looked at each other and nodded before moving forward and placing their hands on it. They were able to manage to push the door open enough for them to get through it. As they walked in their jaws dropped at the sight of the huge chamber. It was a cave like place with a library dug into the walls of the cavern. Shelves were sculpted into the rock and there was a large rug in the center of the chamber, a gothic looking pedestal sat in the middle of it. There were torches on either side of the chamber illuminating the room and a gothic looking chandelier hung from the ceiling, it's chains digging into the rock and holding it.

"Whoa! Would you look at that?" Cana said taken aback by the sight before them.

"I never knew such a place existed inside the castle." Levy said breathlessly.

"Amazing." Wendy assed as she looked around.

"What is this place?" Cana asked as she walked towards the books.

"I don't know but maybe it could somehow lead us to where the king is." Levy said walking near the pedestal.

She found that there seemed to be two pedestals, one behind the other vertically lined up with each other. Lying on the one closest to her was a closed, large book. Behind it on the other pedestal lay a dark red silk pillow, raised a bit higher than the book, that pedestal being taller.

"Maybe there's another switch or something." Cana said and Wendy nodded, both of them looking for one.

Levy looked closely at the book, for some reason feeling drawn to it. She observed the old brown leather, with three straps on the side keeping it securely closed. A simple but elegant gold trim went around the cover of the book but no title was found on it. A gold image of a tree with a trunk that veered to the right, and had many branches coming off of it, the ends of them curling, was on the cover in the center of it instead. Carefully, she picked it up and turned the book around observing it, the back of the book was blank like the front, even more so really. She gently brushed her fingers along the old leather enjoying the feel of it beneath her fingertips. Her eyes half closed at the familiar feeling of it, a sense of almost nostalgia washing over her. A soft, warm light faintly surrounded her, recognizing her magic and putting her into a dazed state. Suddenly the clasps on the book began to open, the leather cover itself flipping open. Her eyes widened as the pages quickly turned as if it were looking for something specific. Finally the flipping of the pages stopped and the book was held open. She looked at the pages and was surprised to find that they were completely blank as if a word had never been written in it. Levy's attention was pulled to the top of the page where words began to suddenly appear. She gulped feeling dizzy as her heart pounded in her chest. She began to hyperventilate, her mouth opened slightly as she began to read the words.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Here's the latest chapter! Sorry guys it took so long, alot going on. Arisa has some things she has to take care of right now so unfortunately the story is going to be on a short hiatus. We probably won't post again until around Christmas time. But don't worry we're not disappearing.**

 **On a side note the beginning of this chapter, the stuff in italics, was not written by me but by Arisa! We got to show you guys a but of her style and whatnot xD**

* * *

 _A long, long time ago magic flow_ _ed_ _richly on this vast planet known as Earthland. The knowledge of magic was unknown by its inhabitants. Everything lived in harmony and peace. Everything, until a fated day, the day where magic was first discovered by humans as a raw, wild power. Most of_ _the_ _humans backed away_ _,_ _being unable to tame it, fearing its nature, most_ _,_ _except of a few. Human nature was always a curious one. Despite the warnings, those who tasted magic became bewitched with its force and fell in the depths of darkness. Blinded by lust of power they summoned what they should never_ _have_ _and brought chaos upon the planet. The balance fell due to their greed and magic was swallowed by this force_ _t_ _hey awaken_ _ed,_ _casting a shadow of darkness over the world. Dark times fell upon the inhabitants, all fearing, all losing their hope, all waiting for their end._

 _A young girl, pure at heart with royal blood and golden hair refused however to give up. She mustered all her courage and went praying for a deity to save them. She prayed to the stars that if there's someone there to come and save what she love_ _d_ _most: life. She fell in love with this planet's nature and life. Every night she prayed with all her might, but the result was always the same: no answer. Yet the young maiden never gave up, she kept on praying and hoping. For her it seemed unfair for the planet to pay the ultimate price of extinction just because_ _a_ _few wicked minds sought power in the wrong way. One day her prayers were_ _heard_ _. The stars respond_ _ed_ _in the shape of Zodiac signs. The constellations sh_ _one_ _brightly on the darkened sky. A mighty being sensed magic and purity int_ _o_ _her_ _and_ _thus he decided to help guide the human kin back on its rightful place. The stars fell from the sky and took shape of golden keys. The mighty being told the young maiden that he sent his children to aid her in her quest. Filled up with hope the maiden stood brave and with the help of the Zodiac keys she summoned a portal to another dimension, but with the cost of her_ _very_ _own life. Calling upon mythical creatures to aid the planet_ _,_ _Dragons first appeared in this world. With her last breath she pleaded to them to save all living creatures. Being impressed with the young girl, the dragons agreed. Wielding nature magic they were able to restore Earthland's balance_ _,_ _sealing the darkness into a jade they swor_ _e_ _to purify as time passe_ _d_ _. Thus peace was once again set on the planet. People all over the world rejoiced, all except_ _for_ _a small kingdom who lost their beloved. The young maiden that sacrificed her own life was loved by her people, her loss bringing sorrow to them. Yet they were not the only ones who felt pain. On her funeral day the whole kingdom mourned her, pure white lilies adorned her grave. Sensing the crumbling spirit of the kingdom, and realizing that a new ruler was needed to bring stability, the maiden's closest and most trusted friend stepped out and took over. The new royal family was later known as the Heartfilia's._

 _7th July x777_

 _-Chronicles of the World-_

Levy gulped as she read that last line aloud. The room fell in silence, Cana and Wendy said nothing as they looked at her. They watched, unmoving as Levy slowly closed the book and placed it on the pedestal. Once laid back down the book closed and sealed itself once again. Levy breathed out softly as if she had been holding it in the whole time.

"Wow, that's some deep shit right there." Cana said finally breaking the silence.

"Cana!" Levy hissed. "You just ruined the mood here!" Cana merely waved the comment off with smirk spread across her lips.

"I didn't know any of this." Wendy said catching the girl's attention.

"You didn't? But aren't you a dragon?" Levy asked with concern. "Doesn't this..uh..you know concern you too?"

"No." Wendy said shaking her head. "That part about the dragons, coming from another dimension and saving the planet, I knew that. But I didn't know about the young girl who sacrificed her life to summon them here." she said sadly. "We lost a lot during the war...and I do realize that both sides had losses...but...Why must we suffer so much? Why must we lose? Why must people fight?" Cana and Levy's expressions softened at seeing the young girl look so sad.

"I know it's hard kiddo but everyone makes mistakes and sometimes others pay the consequences for them. Innocent people are often dragged down with them but that's why we have to stay strong and fight for what we believe in." Cana smiled at her and hugged the girl who simply nodded. "A dear friend of mine is missing, this whole place is infested with monsters...everything is so upside down right now that I don't know what's going on. Honestly, it scares me but we have to do everything we can to make things right. We have to fight for our tomorrow." she smiled down at Wendy.

"I get it! For Lucy-san and you guys, I'll do my best!" she cheered and Cana patted her on the head. Levy watched them with an affectionate expression.

"W-What do you want?" Cana pouted upon seeing Levy and feeling embarrassed.

"Nothing." Levy giggled.

"Hmph." Cana made a show of turning her head away, making Wendy join in with Levy on the giggling. Levy then frowned as she turned her attention back to the book.

"But then again...if what the book said was true. Dragons came to save the world, not to destroy it…"

"What do you mean?" Wendy asked confused.

"Well, in school the subject was always avoided. Vague details were given of the war but that was the best we got. Among the bit of details was the fact that dragons came to destroy the planet. The royal family, though, the Heartfilia's never took pride in their victory. No one ever spoke of it since it had become taboo to discuss the war, or at least details of it."

 _So Lucy's bloodline denied their victory...but...why? Were they sorry?_ Wendy asked herself.

"It always bugged me so I went to libraries across the continent to do research but no luck. There were no documents that clearly specified the details of the war." Levy said with a frown.

"That's because we were destroyed." a deep voice came from inside the room with them, startling the girls. A figure emerged from the shadows revealing himself to be King Jude Heartfilia.

"Jude-sama?!" the girls shouted and he nodded.

"Sorry I had you all worried."

"H-How…" Cana began but was interrupted by Levy.

"Kya! S-Sorry! I took the liberty of checking your sacred book!" she squeaked and bowed before him, embarrassed.

 _Hoo...so this is the king? It's my first time seeing one._ Wendy marvelled, thinking to herself as Jude chuckled at the girl's reaction.

"I know I have a lot to explain but as you can see I'm alright." he told them. "Don't worry about the book. It's about time the truth came to light anyway." Levy and Cana nodded softly as they noticed the kindness in his eyes. "The mystery here, is that you need magic to open it." he said looking over at Levy who let out a soft squeak and turned away blushing. He smiled as she scratched the back of her head and then looked to the book. "I was nearly doomed when a friend saved me. The demons had surrounded me, preparing to attack because their use for me had vanished." he began to explain as he walked toward them with his hands behind his back. "With my top knights out looking for my beloved daughter, I was left with little protection. If it weren't for Mest and his teleportation magic, I wouldn't be here now. He along with Makarov are old friends of mine. They belong to the traveling guild known as Fairy Tail. They had once saved my wife, Layla, when she was pregnant with Lucy. For that I owed them and so decided not to lay a hand on their guild, keeping their existence and my ties to them secret. I had noticed that they came to my kingdom and settled down for a long period of time but before I could question them my mind was sealed away." he said looking back at the pillow on the pedestal. He sighed softly before continuing. "Just like before...just like the war...same situation…"  
"What are you talking about old man?" Cana asked.

"Cana! That's not how you address our king!" Levy hissed but Cana ignored her.

"We knew from the beginning why the dragons had come, their purpose here and what they had done to save our planet. A long time ago a dear friend of the Heartfilia's had sacrificed herself to summon them here. The magic that was used to open and maintain the portal was too great for her fragile body to handle. It was because of her strong, steel-like will that she lasted as long as she did, before giving out her last breath. We and the dragons will never forget her sacrifice and so we swore to protect the planet." He told them.

"T-Then I don't get it. Why start the war?" Levy asked and his expression saddened.

"Revenge."

"What do you mean?" Cana asked, confused.

"We weren't the only ones that mourned her. There was another...Someone who had always stood by her side. He couldn't accept her death, her sacrifice. On the day of her funeral he disappeared and didn't return until several years late seeking vengeance on the dragons. What he did during the time he had vanished, no one knew but when he came back he came back with power and one of our neighboring kingdoms backing him up. He was the one that started the war. He deceived and controlled us." Jude said angrily with a frown. "The Heartfilia family fell into his trap and thus the war began. We...we betrayed our pact with the dragons. Turned on them. It's why we never took pride in their annihilation." the girls gulped at the revelation continuing to listen intently as Jude closed his eyes at the painful memories. "And history is about to be repeated. I, the same as my ancestor, fell into the same trap. It was then that my mind had been sealed and I became a puppet for them to use. I had lost my sanity and ignored my daughter… After the death of my wife I tried to be a good father, a good king...things were looking up until _he_ came along. Ever since the first time I met with him everything began to fall apart. It felt like my body was not my own, like I was watching from the outside, having no control over what I did or said. " he opened his eyes once more. "I've hurt my people, my family...and it seems that they managed to find what they were looking for." the king turned to look at the girls. "I know I've made mistakes but if there's anyone who can save us now...redeem us...it's no one else but my daughter, Lucy. Please tell her the truth behind the war. She was due to find out after she got married but this can no longer wait. Mard Geer is fake! He deceived us all. He is our enemy and he will stop at nothing to acquire his goal whatever it may be!" he said taking a few steps towards the girls. "I have sensed _him_ in Mard. Please, tell everyone the truth and help us to restore peace."

The girls were speechless as he bowed his head before them. It was the first time they had ever seen or heard of a king pleading. It was definitely the first time he had ever asked for their help. After a moment of silence, they girls looked at each other and nodded, smiling in agreement.

"I will tell Lucy all of this! I'm sure she can do something about it!" Levy said.

"And I'll inform the dragons! With this information no one should hate you anymore?" Wendy said with determination and he nodded kindly at her.

"Don't worry about me as long as I stay here I'll be safe. Now off you go." he said and the girls nodded turning to run back outside.

King Jude smiled at them as he watched them run off. He turned his gaze back to the pillow on the pedestal. The pillow itself was dusty but in the dust was the outline of 12 keys. A smile spread across his lips as he looked at the outlines on the pillow.

"Layla...it seems the gift of the gods was passed on down to our daughter. The same thing that guided us in the past will be the same thing to guide us in the present and on to the future."

 **Outside Heartfilia Castle**

"F-Finally made it outside." Cana huffed as she paused, hunching over to catch her breath. Levy and Wendy were right behind her doing the same. Levy and Cana began to take in their surroundings and their eyes widened when they took in the sight of the battlefield. "Oh, wow. This is a lot worse than I thought."

The battlefield was full of the shadow creatures, various mages and guards fighting them off. Or trying to at least. The ground was little with fallen fallen warriors, their blood seeping into the soil. Cana looked over and saw that the mages themselves didn't seem to be in top condition either. Many of them looked like they were getting weary, some of the ones with nasty injuries being taken out by the merciless creatures.

"Let's go girls! They need our help!" Cana shouted and they moved into action.

"Guys bring the injured to me! I'm a healer! I can help!" Wendy called out.

The mages and the guards looked a little weary at first, wondering what a little girl could do but seeing her determined eyes they gave in and decided to listen. They nodded to each other and began to gather the injured and followed her to a remote place away from the battlefield. Cana and Levy brought some men too and helped in setting up a tent. They kept the injured in there where Wendy began to heal them. Cana watched as Wendy's small hands began to glow while she focused.

"Not bad little girl." Cana whistled and Wendy smiled proudly.

"Ok, next one!' she said when she was finished healing the man.

"Ok, now this is taking way too long!" Lisanna said as she took out a few more shadow creatures.

Mira, still in here Satan Soul form, had saved a couple of guards when she heard her sister's words. She frowned as she looked around the battlefield, taking in how many had fallen. On top of that she noticed how truly exhausted everyone was becoming. Their magic was running low and even with the help of the dragons and hybrids they were still outnumbered. On top of that, when the dragons arrived the demons merged with each other, creating stronger creatures in order to combat the dragons and hybrids.

"This can't go on any longer." Mira said gritting her teeth. "Everyone is exhausted...there has to be a core somewhere." she said to herself looking around for the answer.

A dark laughter came from the castles gardens where a layer of mist was in the air. A shadowy figure appeared at the garden's entrance out of the mist. He fixed the silver glasses on his nose as he walked forward. The tall, thin man was dressed in a dark purple jacket, wearing a gray shirt and black pants. Blue shoes and white gloves completed the ensemble that made up Rustyrose's appearance. The silver haired man stopped in front of the battlefield and spread his arms out.

"Well, fairies, how do you like my performance?" he laughed darkly.

"Performance?" Mira asked looking all around and then realization hit her. "It's you! All these shadows are your doing!" she yelled.

"Correct." he said fixing his glasses once more. "Sadly, we didn't get to meet last time, Satan Soul Mirajane." he said looking up at her. Her eyes widened as she took in his appearance.

"Wait! You're the guy that hurt Elfman and Evergreen in battle! Freed and Bickslow had defteated you." she said. "You're one of Grimoire Hearts Seven Kin of Purgatory: Rustyrose!"

"That is also correct." he smirked.

"What's going on?! Fairy Tail took down Grimoire Hearts over a year ago! You should be in prison by now." she glared at him and he chuckled darkly.

"Let me enlighten you a bit Miss Fairy." he said with venom in his voice. "It's true that we were sent to prison after Fairy Tail had crushed us. But our savior freed us and now we're working under _his_ orders. Truth be told I don't wish to work under anyone's orders but when they said there was a chance we'd clash with Fairy Tail we were thrilled." he said with a sadistic grin and MIra grit her teeth. "A chance to get our revenge and to crush all of you annoying fairies.

"Grimoire Hearts was just a group of thieves and mercenaries! There's no way I'm going to let any of your members roam around the world as long as Fairy Tail exists!" she yelled our as she dashed towards him.

"Jet black sword!"

Dark purple fog surrounded his right arm creating a claw-like sword. He thrusted his arm forward, extending the sword toward Mira. At first she seemed to dodge just fine but the sword kept on pursuing her. She flew high up into the sky, dodging the attacks as she did so. She held her hands together and a dark colored sphere began to take shape in her palm.

"Evil explosion." she said pushing her hands forward and releasing the powerful blast of energy at him but he only smirked, holding out his left hand.

"That which dwells in my left hand is a golden shield that pushes back everything." he chanted and a gold shield with black marks running along the trim and two horns on the top of it on either side appeared.

The shield effortlessly blocked Mira's blast attack making her tsk. He smiled at her as she observed his shield in all its glory. Whatever it was made of it had to have a weakness and Mira wouldn't give up til she exploited it. She moved to execute another move when suddenly a powerful shock made the castle and its grounds tremble.

"What the-" the crowd began to shout.

A huge magic circle formed up in the sky followed by a bright flash of light. As the light faded so did the trembling, easing up until it finally stopped completely. The mages looked around and began to see what had happened and make sure everyone was okay. Everyone looked around confused until someone said something about looking up to the sky. Jaws dropped as they took in the sight of the cube-like structure floating above the castle.

"W-What the hell is that?!"

"It's huuuge!"

"Ahhh this is the end!" various voices called out as Mira looked up, gulping as she heard Rusty's dark chuckle.

"It seems that they finally made it out here." he said as she turned back to him. "That means everything is going according to plan."

"What plan? What are you talking about?!" Mira demanded.

"Oh, it's nothing for you to be concerned with." he laughed darkly as she grit her teeth, flying down to attack him once again.

 _If I can get rid of him then the shadow creatures will cease to exist._ She thought to herself. _Ever and Elfman told us about their encounter with him. If I remember right this guy can use a type of magic that can materialize anything his imagination can think up._ Mira sent a few blasts in his direction but he blocked them all with his shield.

"You won't win this war fairies! Dance all you can for this will be your graveyard!" he laughed as he continued to block her attacks and counter them with his shield and sword.

 **Tenrou Island**

"What the hell was that?" Sting asked,

"I don't know but it came from the direction of the castle." Rogue observed.

"Indeed. I'm also worried about the fact that the earthquake could be heard all the way out here. I can only imagine how bad it was at the epicenter." Pantherlily added and Carla bit her lip.

"I won't wait any longer! I have to go! I'm worried about Wendy!" she said summoning her wings.

"Wait!" Lily called out to her as he grabbed her arm. "It's too dangerous to go alone!" he scolded.

"I know that." she said lowering her head.

"She's right though. I'm also starting to worry about the kids." Gildarts said approaching them.

"The old man is right. We should head to the castle." Sting said.

"Yeah, but what about the nest? The shadow creatures are still roaming around." Rogues reminded them.

"You don't need to worry about that. We can take care of these low level creatures." Grandeeney assured them as she approached. "So go forward my children." she said and the group nodded as the hybrids summoned their wings. "You won't go with them young warrior?" she said looked at Gildarts and he shook his head.

"I thought you were worried about your guildmates." the light dragon said.

"I am but but I have faith in your young ones." he smirked. "Besides, when we were attacked I sensed the presence of more than just those two. But we only fought them so I'm worried. I'd like to ask your permission to search the island." he asked seriously, looking at them and they nodded.

"I sense a power come coming from within the caves." a green dragon said.

"From the caves?" the light dragon asked with concern.

"It can't be…" she shadow dragon began.

Upon seeing the dragons worried the way they were Gildarts asked for directions to the area in question so he could investigate.

 **Heartfilia Castle**

"I must admit you're strong Mirajane." Rustyrose smirked as he fought to catch his breath.

"You're not too bad yourself. It seems you've improved since the last time we beat you. If you hadn't then I would've taken you down by now." she said.

"Hmph, well thank you for that. But it seems your luck has just run out." he laughed. "Come forth Tower of Dingir!" he shouted and a massive tower rose out of the ground catching Mira off-guard. She became immobilized and was dragged into the commotion along with those nearby her.

"D-Damn I let my guard down." she said as she reverted back to human form.

"Dance my swords!" a voice was heard in the distance and the next second a powerful slash shattered the tower. Dark orbs formed around the Mira and the other victims protecting them from the blast.

"W-What the!" Rustyrose exclaimed in confusion seeing the tower crumble.

When the commotion and dust cloud began to subside a figure landed on the battlefield with heavy armor made of almost entirely silver. Erza was dressed in the outfit that consisted of a small breastplate composed of feather shaped plates pointing upwards. A large metal flower was on the front that extended to her hips, her biceps covered with metal straps and large plated gauntlets. Similar feather-like plates wrapped around her waist making up a long skirt with plated boots to complete the armor ensemble.

"Erza-san!" the guards cheered. "And Jellal-san too!"

"Sorry we're late." Jellal said smiling as he walked up next to Erza. Erza looked around the battleground, grimacing at the sight. She turned to face Rusty making him flinch under her piercing gaze. "Who are you?" she asked darkly.

"He's the one behind the shadow creatures." Mira informed her, panting from magic exhaustion.

"Hooh." Erza eyed him and he shivered. "This guy?"

"F-Fear…" he began a chant as he got up and began to laugh. "Fear is from where my inspiration comes! Come forth ghosts of Britttania and devour the spirit of the fairies!" he shouted and a wave of ghost like entities formed around the mages, enveloping them and immobilizing them. Erza watched with anger as the others struggled.

"Re-quip: Black Wing Armor!" she chanted and was suddenly clad in black armor with silver trim. Black dragon-like wings were attached to her back, black shoulder pads with silver-edged plates, a similar style silver edged breastplate revealing her stomach and cleavage, along with an dark indument covering her lower part made up the outfit. Two plates flanked her hips and reached down to her large waist guard giving some added protection. She swung her sword and and powerful slice of cut through his wave.

"W-Wha-" Rusty was left speechless as he watched his attack fail. He started his incantation again but Erza rushed at him slicing in an X pattern.

"Moon flash!" she shouted and moved past him, Rusty dropping to the ground unconscious. A purple orb rolled off his body and cracked open releasing dark magic. "This answers my question." she said walking toward the orb. "It had dark magic stored in it, no wonder his powers were working on such a large scale." she said before smashing it to pieces by stomping on it. _Finally an answer out of my millions of questions._ "Hey! You!" she shouted as she grabbed Rusty by the collar and shaking him violently. "Who the hell are you? How did you get this? What the hell is that floating cube up there?" she shouted impatiently.

"Erza, calm down. He's unconscious. It's no use asking him questions now." Jellal said trying to calm her, though it was hard when she was raging like this.

"You're right." She sighed heavily and dropped him on the ground, turning to one of the guards. "You! Give me a report on the situation!" she glared at him and he passed out, the exhaustion finally getting to him. "Tch, useless."

She turned to another guard but Mira spoke up taking pity on the poor guards. She explained everything that she knew so far to Erza and Jellal. She told them how the guild had gathered here upon sensing the dark magic and how they fought alongside the guards to protect the castle. Erza nodded, listening as she took in the details. She hated that the castle was under attack while she had been gone but was grateful to Fairy Tail's help. It wasn't long until Wendy ran up to them, panting and feeling slightly dizzy from using so much magic.

"Erza-san good to see you." she smiled and then looked around, confused. "But where are Natsu and the rest?" Erza scowled at hearing Natsu's name.

"Natsu." she said darkly, gritting her teeth and the others took a step back. A grumpy Gajeel came up from behind them scratching his head and Levy and Cana walked up.

"Salamander and that ice guy went back to the nest. He said something about having a bad feeling and took off leaving us behind." he explained.

"Every. Single. One. of. you. " Erza began angrily. "Even if i have a billion questions waiting to be answered...you all decide to act by yourselves and do whatever you want!" she said pissed off. "That brat! Just wait til he gets back! I'll finish him myself!" she cracked her knuckles and everyone sighed not wanting to bother a pissed off Erza.

"Well, that's our situation." Gajeel said finally.

"What about Lu-chan...I mean the princess?" Levy asked and the group fell silent.

"W-we couldn't find her there." Erza said lowering her head.

"Oh…" Levy said sadly.

"Well, it's no use moping about it now." Cana said trying to sound encouraging. At least we've found the king, so the next step is finding Lucy!" she said winking to Levy who smiled.

"You found the king?!" Erza asked as some relief washed over her and the girls nodded.

"Yeah, the king is alright." Levy assured.

"We found him in secret chamber inside the castle. It seems that one of the Fairy Tail mages helped hide him." Cana added.

"Yeah, that was Mest's job." Mira smiled.

"I see." Erza said as she crossed her arms with a smile. "I'm truly grateful." she bowed toward Mira.

"Don't worry about it." Mira said trying to brush it off.

"Well then, all that's left is to go find Lucy!" Cana cheered and the other's nodded. "I'm sure she's somewhere around here."

"Well then I'm gonna work hard as well!" Wendy said bravely.

"Weeennndddyyy!" a shout was heard, a figure approaching her at high speed and flying into her.

"Kyaaahh! Carla!" Wendy laughed as she hugged the exceed.

"Wendyyyy!" she cried burying her head in the young girl's chest. "I was so worried about you." she sniffed as Wendy rubbed her head with a warm smile.

"There there. I'm alright, don't worry." Wendy turned to the group with Carla in her arms. "I'm gonna try to help as best as I can! Bring me more injured!" she said but as she began to walk felt dizzy.

"Don't push yourself child." Carla said with concern as Wendy wobbled slightly.

"Don't worry Carla, I'm ok. Plus they need a healer."

"That won't be necessary." an older woman dressed in a green blouse and skirt, with a crimson cape over her said. The cape had a high collar with dragon-like horns adorning it. Her pink hair was tied up in a bun by two large pins, two bangs framing her face.

"Who are you?" Wendy asked.

"I'm Porlyusica." the woman said looking down at Wendy. "Fairy Tail's healer. I'll take over helping the wounded so you can take a rest and restore your magic little one." the group smiled and nodded at her before heading off to the direction where they had set up the wounded.

"We'll look for Lucy." Erza said and Jellal nodded.

"I'll help out on the battlefield." Gajeel smirked.

"Then I guess we'll help out the wounded." Cana said and Levy nodded in agreement.

The group split up heading their different directions to help out where they could. Erza looked up at the cube floating in the sky and had a feeling that at the very least that place would give them a clue to where Lucy was. She didn't like losing the princess right after finding her but it had happened. She was tired of the questions. Tired of the craziness that was going on and longed for the days when all she had to worry about was who Lucy would end up marrying. It felt like forever now when things were 'normal'. Now they were pit in this crazy...war. There were mages and dragons and dragon hybrids everywhere. Their world had literally been turned upside down. She sighed heavily when Sting and the rest of the hybrids landed near her and Jellal.

"Oi, where's Natsu-san?" he asked and Erza ignored him continuing to walk forward. "Eh...whats with her?"

"Don't worry about her. She's just...stressed." Jellal said with a small smile. "Natsu, Gray and Happy went back to the island. He said he had a bad feeling about everything that was going on."  
"To Tenrou?" Rogue asked sharing a look with Sting.

"But...we just came from there. Tsk, we must've just missed him." Sting frowned.

"The nest was attacked but we took care of the intruders and then came here to help." Rogue explained. As Jellal and the others looked around they saw that the shadow creatures began disintegrating on their own with the defeat of Rustyrose. "Though it looks like there's not much we can do now."

"That may be true but we still have that problem." Jellal said pointing up to the floating cube and the two hybrids looked up.

"Maybe we could fly up there and check it out." Sting said summoning his wings and Jellal nodded.

"Be careful." he said and then went after Erza. Sting and Rogue motioned for a few hybrids to follow them to investigate the cube.

 **Somewhere in the forest between Heartfilia Castle and Tenrou Island**

"Ow." Zancrow groaned rubbing his backside. "Damn it. Those freaks are too overpowered. I underestimated them too much." he mumbled as he straightened up. "Tch! I need to go back and finish those freaks off." he said as he took off in the direction of the dragon nest.

"Kyaaaaaaahhhh!"

"Huh?" Zancrow looked around confused, wondering where the sound was coming from. His eyes widened in surprise when he looked up and saw a figure falling down toward him. "Gyah!" he yelled out as he was suddenly enveloped in a fluffy pink cloud, a girl falling on top of it.

"Kyah!" she yelled out as she landed on the ground, bottom first. "Ow." she groaned softly, rubbing her bottom as she got up. "Thanks Aries." she smiled at the pink haired spirit. Her attire consisted of a white, fluffy wool like outfit and she had twisted horns on the side of her head.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry!" Aries bowed to her.

"No worries." Lucy smiled. "You can go now." she said and the spirit vanished in a puff of smoke. As the smoke cleared Lucy saw Zancrow on the ground passed out. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she said horrified that they'd landed on someone. She move to him and shook him trying to wake him up. "Oh, thank god." she sighed in relief as he began to stir.

"Ugh, what the... " Zancrow groaned as he began to regain consciousness. He looked around and then saw Lucy. "Who the hell are you?"

"Wha-How rude...I know I landed on you but it was an accident." she hissed making him annoyed.

"Whatever, I'm taking you down anyway cuz you piss me off!" he said jumping up startling Lucy but she quickly got into a combat ready pose. She trembled slightly not knowing who she was dealing with as she held up her fists in an attempt to look tough.

"I'm not afraid of you!"

"We'll see about that." he smirked as dark fire formed on his fists and Lucy shivered at feeling the extent of his power. "Fire god's explosive flame!" he shouted and released a massive stream of black flames when he thrust his arm forward. The flames increased in size as they got closer to her and she froze, her eyes wide with horror.

"Ice make: Ice shield!" a voice came and a large ice shield reminiscent of a flower formed in front of her blocking the attack. Gray ran up next to her while steam formed and dissipated all around them. Happy hovered by Gray and looked over at Lucy with a smile.

"Aye! We're here!"

"Gray? Happy?" she shouted excitedly.

"Lushiii." Happy cried launching himself into her chest.

"Happy!" she yelled hugging him tightly. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Lushiii where were you? We were so worried about you?!" the blue cat sniffed.

"I'm sorry...so sorry…" she sniffed, holding back tears as Gray eyed them with a small smile.

"Damn it!" Zancrow coughed. "More pests. I'll get rid of you all!" he shouted, black flames forming around his fists.

"Like hell you will!" a roar was heard and fire came crashing down into Zancrow.

Zancrow and the area around him were engulfed in blazing flames. He screamed out in agonizing pain as the intense heat burnt him to a crisp, his ashes spreading amongst the flames. Amidst the flames a powerful draconic figure landed on the ground fast and hard, the ground beneath his feet cracking. His wings were spread out menacingly, scales covering his skin and the horns on his head seemed to add to the menacing look. Lucy's breath caught in her throat as she looked at her dragon, her arms tightening around Happy.

"Natsu…" she breathed out in a whisper.

"L-Lucy...ch-choking…" Happy struggled in her tight grip, gasping for breath.

Upon hearing her voice the figure turned around to face her. The fire dancing behind him highlighting the angry look that he seemed to be wearing. In fact, he looked utterly pissed, making her nervous. She gulped realizing he was probably mad at her.

"Lucy." he growled darkly.


	19. Chapter 19

_That bastard will pay for what he put me through._ Natsu thought to himself as he grit his teeth and clenched his fists tightly, knuckles turning white. He flew faster. If Lucy wasn't there then she should be at the castle. They had to find her. He couldn't….Natsu closed his eyes and shook his head. He needed to try to keep his mind clear. He had to get there, he had to find her. As they neared the castle, Natsu narrowed his pupil-slit eyes sensing something was wrong. He suddenly stopped mid-air and tried to focus on what he was feeling.

"Oi Salamander! Why'd you stop?!" Gajeel growled as the rest caught up with him.

"Natsu what are you thinking?" Erza asked impatiently but he ignored them, head snapping in the direction of the nest. His eyes narrowed again and he grumbled lowly, deciding to take off in that direction without a word.

"Oi!" the group shouted after him.

"Where the hell is he going?" Erza frowned.

"That's the direction of Tenrou isn't it?" Jellal asked and Gajeel nodded.

"I don't know what's going on with him but I'm kind of worried. Happy let's go follow him!" Gray said.

"Aye sir!" Happy nodded as they took off.

"Wait! Guys!" Erza called out but Gray just waved her off. "Tsk! Whatever, let's go to the castle." she shouted to Jellal and Gajeel.

Natsu entered the forest, flying towards the nest. He had sensed something wrong with the pulse, an evil presence at it. It was a hard decision and he had felt torn but he knew the others could find Lucy. If someone had made it to the pulse then only he could stop them. He chewed on his bottom lip when suddenly a familiar scent hit him. He froze, his heart stopped and his blood ran cold. It was _her_ scent. His eyes went wide at the realization and he had to grab his hand to keep it from trembling. With a heavy sigh he took off in the direction of the welcomed scent. A thousand different thoughts and feelings shot through him, distracting him but the sound of a roar and feeling of dark magic snapped him back to reality. He looked around and in the distance was a long, spiky blond haired man sent a blast of black fire at a girl. Natsu's eyes widened at recognizing her. It was Lucy. A momentary wave of relief washed through him before panic began to suddenly set in. She was in danger and he was too far away to help her. He didn't know how or care but he was happy that somehow Gray had gotten to her and protected her from a blast of dark fire. His brows knit together as rage built inside of him. How dare that piece of scum attack his mate, attack his Lucy! He gathered his fire preparing for a powerful attack.

"Like hell you will!" he roared as he sent a blast of flames at the dark mage engulfing him in them. He dropped down in front of the burning figure, the ground cracking beneath his feet and watched as the man burned alive. He glared at the screaming figure, smirking as he fell to the ground. No one should mess with him or especially with Lucy.

"Natsu…" he heard her soft voice come out in a whisper and a shiver shot up his spine.

"L-Lucy...ch-choking...:" Happy struggled, gasping for air as he was crushed from being held by her.

Natsu turned around slowly to face her, afraid that she wouldn't actually be there. As he turned she took in the sight of him with the blazing flames burning behind him. He somehow looked angry and Lucy was afraid that he was angry at her. His mouth parted slightly and he released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding as he took in the sight of her. Her voice, her trembling form, her...scent. Hsi heart banged in his chest and he felt it tighten, a stinging building behind his eyes. Lucy gulped as he glared at her, seemingly studying her. He really was mad at her.

"Lucy." he said in a low, dark voice.

She flinched at his tone, dropping Happy in the process and took a tentative step back. Happy protested but moved away to give them their space along with Gray. He knew that Natsu wouldn't hurt Lucy, that much was apparent to him about the dragon mage. They watched as Natsu walked towards her, finally stopping in front of her. He eyed her, seemingly frowning, as his brows slightly furrowed.

"N-Nats-" she began but paused when she saw him raising his hand.

She closed her eyes and waited for the impact to come. He slammed her hard... against his chest almost knocking the air out of her. His arms snacked around her and pulled her tightly against him. She wanted to protest but stopped when she heard his soft sobs.

"Where have you been?" he asked his voice cracking and trembling. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she realized he was shaking.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry…" she said wrapping her arms around him tightly.

Lucy buried her head in his scarf and inhaled his scent of cinder and ashes. She smiled softly as she began to feel herself calm down. Natsu buried his nose in her hair and took in her sweet scent. A huge wave of relief washed over him and it felt like a crushing, devastating weight was lifted off. _Lucy...it's Lucy...the real Lucy...Lucy...Lucy…_ he chanted in his mind, tears streaming down his face as he hugged her tightly, enjoying the feel of her body pressed up against his telling him that this wasn't his imagination. He sighed in relief. It was really her. He had her again. For the first time since that night he felt...complete. He felt like his body worked again and like his insides weren't being put through a meat grinder. The nauseous feeling was gone, all of it replaced by joy, relief and bliss. Finally he had his Lucy again. He lowered his head and rubbed his nose softly against the crook of her neck breathing her in. Lucy balled her fists in his vest as she hugged him tightly, burrowing her own face in his scarf and neck as she cried.

"Erm.." Gray coughed politely and cleared his throat. "Sorry...I hate to interrupt this but...we have stuff...to do…" Natsu almost found himself saying that he didn't care. He was on the verge of flying Lucy far away and living out the rest of their lives somewhere else. Happy smirked and put a paw up to his mouth.

"They looooovveee each other." he rolled his tongue and Gray smirked.

Natsu and Lucy slightly pulled their faces back but he refused to let her go. The warmth of her body thawing his ice cold feelings. Lucy buried her face in Natsu's chest blushing at Happy's words. He found himself gently rubbing her back as she held him close. _That's right, this isn't over yet._ He thought to himself. Natsu closed his eyes and hugged her tightly once more taking in her scent again before reluctantly letting go of her.

"By the way Lushi, where were you all of this time?" Happy asked and she looked down at him.

"I was being held captive inside a magic barrier at Mard Geer's castle." she explained. "I escaped and ended up here after the castel transported itself."

"Mard's castle?" Gray asked in disbelief. "But I thought…"

Gray looked over at Natsu whose eyes had widened at the revelation. So this whole time she was under his nose and he couldn't even smell her. It had to have been the magic barrier. No. He frowned. He still should've been able to smell her, he still should've known. He should've looked more. Natsu grit his teeth as his body was engulfed in flames, an angry look on his face. Lucy yelped as her dragon boy lit on fire and jumped back to give him space.

"Mard Geer." he growled darkly.

Natsu suddenly sensed fear coming from Lucy, he looked over at her and saw the concerned look on her face. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. The flames dissipated as he slowed his breathing and tried to collect his thoughts. Once calm, he opened his eyes again and looked over at her. She looked back but he could tell she was still a little scared. He mentally kicked himself for losing it and then went over to her.

"I'm glad you're alright." he said cupping her cheek and smiling sweetly at her. "I was really worried about you." Lucy was taken by surprise and blushed hard making her face as red as a tomato.

"T-T-Thanks." she stuttered and he chuckled softly at her state of embarrassment. He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes savoring her presence.

"Listen Lucy." he said and she felt his breath softly hitting her face. I need to go back to the nest and check on something. I have a bad feeling about what's going on over there." he opened his eyes and looked at her, their gazes meeting. "I want you to go back to the castle. Erza and the others are there and I trust that they'll protect you." he said and she nodded slowly though the thought of being apart again made both of them feel sick. He pulled back from her and looked over at Gray and Happy. "Mard kidnapped her for a reason. Now that she's escaped he'll definitely come for her again. I trust you and Happy to get her back to the castle safely."

"No problem bro." Gray nodded with a smile. "I'll take care of her with my life." Natsu smiled back, thankful.

"Listen Lucy." Natsu began as he brought his hands up to his scarf and unwrapped it from around his neck. "I want you to keep this for me until we meet again." he said wrapping it around her.

He cupped her chin and pressed her lips to his, kissing her sweetly. She placed her hands on his arms as she kissed him back before breaking apart. They smiled at each other one last time before he turned around, summoning his wings. He spread them out and took to the sky.

"I'm counting on you Gray!' he called back as he flew away.

Natsu left behind a stunned, flushed girl, watching as he left. She brought her fingers to her lips touching them lightly. Lucy blushed harder as she moved her hands down to feel the material of his scarf between her fingers. She smiled at having a piece of him with her. _I promise I'll keep it safe Natsu._ She said but was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard snickering.

"You loooooooooveeeee him~" Happy sang and she looked away shyly but nodded. "Whoa! She didn't deny it!" Happy shouted with a smile.

"Okay okay, enough. Let's get going." Gray said. "Happy, you carry Lucy."  
"Aye sir!" he replied as he picked Lucy up and took off, staying close to the ground. Gray summoned Ice to his feet and created a path that he could slide on allowing him to keep up with Happy's flying.

 **Tenrou Island**

"Nnh." Franmalth paced around Azuma, annoying the latter. "Are you done yet?" he asked impatiently

"Quiet. This is a delicate process. I have to be careful." Azuma said calmly as his hand was held out a few inches away from the pulse.

He closed his eyes to concentrate on what he was doing. Franmalth frowned as he watched, looking from Azuma to the pulse. Azuma opened his eyes and took a step, leaning forward and placing his hand on the pulse. He reached into the energy, his hands wrapping around a sphere inside of it. The pulse hummed loudly and let loose a few rays of energy crackling around the cave. Franmalth smirked as he watched the stray beams of energy strike all around the cave.

"All of this magic." he said in awe. "I wonder how much it will cost." he snickered evilly as his eyes narrowed.

Blood veins began to form on Azuma's hand and they shot up his arm. He simply ignored what was happening and focused on his task, keeping calm. His grip on the orb tightened and the density of the magic intensified, streams of smoke billowed out of the orb as the energy continued to crackle around.

* * *

"Gaah!" Natsu cried out in pain as he clutched his heart. One eye closed at feeling of sudden and sharp pain that shot through him. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself as he took off faster toward the nest.

All of the other hybrids felt the same stabbing pain making them tremble a bit. The dragons sensed something wrong and looked off in the direction of the pulse.

"What's wrong with them?" Levy asked as she helped with the injured.

Since Rustyrose had been defeated the shadow creatures had all vanished. This allowed for them to gather all the wounded and clean up the mess the battle had created. The mages themselves were able to rest up and build back their energy. A few of them looked up at the floating cube. No one knew what it really was or why it was there. It left an eerie feeling in all since nothing was happening with it. It was just there.

"Who knows? But judging from their stances it can't be good." Cana said as she looked over at the dragons who were getting tense.

"Agh!" the girls looked over to see Wendy gripping her chest in pain.

"Wendy!" they all called out with concern as they rushed to her side.

""Don't worry. I'm fine." She panted softly and Porlyusica eyed the girl, sighing.

"That's enough little one. Let me do the rest." she said.

"B-But…" Wendy began but Porlyusica frowned.

"I said enough! Leave now! I hate humans!" she shouted and began to shoo everyone out of the tent to leave her alone with the injured.

"Geez that old hag." Cana tsk'd.

"That was a bit rude. I'm certainly not a human so I don't know why whe'd hate me too." Carla humphed. "But she is right. You need rest Wendy." the girl nodded and walked over by the mages that were resting and gathering their magic. It was there that she met Mirajane, Bisca, Alzack, and Romeo.

"It's nice to meet you all." She said politely and bowed.

"The pleasure is ours." Mira smiled.

"I'm glad you came to talk with us though. To be honest not many of us have the courage to go up and talk to those big guys." Lisanna said pointing to the dragons.

"Yeah, we have a few things we wanna know." Bisca said nodding.

"Well, I'll help however I can." Wendy smiled as Romeo, a boy with spiky dark hair, got up from his spot and moved closer to her.

"You're pretty tough for a small girl like you." he said placing his fingers on his shin as if he were thinking it over. Wendy blushed and looked away, feeling shy under his gaze.

"Pfft like you're one to talk." Cana smirked patting Romeo on the head.

"Hey, don't treat me like a little kid!" he protested, moving away from her.

"Heeeh, so this is a dragon's child?" a girl with long lavender hair and glasses said coming up behind Wendy. "It's the first time I see one!" she smiled at the girl. "Yo! I'm Laki, nice to meet you!" she said holding out her hand and Wendy shook it introducing herself.

"By the way, what's with them?" Cana asked pointing a finger behind her shoulder.

They all looked behind her to see a couple of men taking care of the guards. They were members of Fairy Tail. One of them, a rather muscular man, was shouting 'man' all the time and carrying the injured on his broad shoulders. MIra and Lisanna chuckled softly at the sight of their brother.

"Aah...Elfman is always full of energy. I honestly don't know where he gets it all from." MIra giggled.

Mira explained that during the battle a lot more guards had shown up to help in the fight. But because of the nature of the battle most of them only ended up getting hurt. Fortunately, Fairy Tail was able to protect them. Afterwards, while Mira and the others were gathering their strength, Elfman and some of the other guys like Macao, Jet, and Reedus began to help the injured guards. Meanwhile other members of Fairy Tail were beginning to strategize. Warren and Vijeeter were discussing communication while Laxus and his thunder team had some questions for the dragons.

"Yo! I have a few things I wanna talk to you about!" Laxus said as he walked up to five of the dragons. Impressed by his fearlessness, Zirconis and the others gathered around him.

"Heh, seems like there are still some humans with enough of a backbone to talk to us." Zirconis smirked. He looked over at the three people behind him. Evergreen was shaking, Bickslow shifted uncomfortably and Freed had his eyes closed in an attempt to keep his calm composure.

"That doesn't matter." Laxus said. "Gildarts probably already told you what our guild's purpose is." The situation down here is under control but I'm more bugged by that thing." he said pointing up to the floating cube. "I'd like to go and check it out to see what kind of threat it represents."

"I understand. I do sense eerie magic coming from up there." Atlas flame said.

"So, back to my problem." Laxus continued. "I need help getting up there. Not many of us have flight capabilities and the one's that do are low on magic."

"Well, it's true that our children went up there to investigate it. They should be more than up to the task but given the current situation I am worried about them." Levia stated.

"True, something also must've happened at the nest." Atlas Flame added.

"Well, we can get you up there but we want to go check on the nest as well." Laxus smirked at Zirconis words and nodded. "Gather your team and hop on." Laxus nodded and motioned for his team to gather everyone some of the others that could still fight.

 **Dragon Nest- The Pulse**

Azuma's grip on the orb intensified as more magic was released from it, magic filling the room crackling. Franmalth danced around the chamber snickering.

"I hope I'm not interrupting the party." a male voice was heard and they turned to see a shadowy figure approach.

"Hn? Who are you?" Franmalth asked as Azuma eyed him from the corner of his eyes.

"Gildarts Clive." he mumbled. "Fairy Tail's strongest mage."

"Hooh, Fairy Tail's strongest? So this is the guild that whipped your assses a year ago." Franmalth snickered. Azuma looked displeased by the comment but went back to focusing on his task. Once he was finished he would take his revenge on Gildarts. Facing an opponent as powerful as Gildarts was an added bonus too.

"I don't know what you're doing here or what this room is but you have to stop." Gildarts smirked. "You see the dragons had a bad feeling that something was going on here so I came to put an end to whatever you're doing." he said as he raised his arm.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Franmalth wagged his finger back and forth. "This won't do." Franmalth muttered as his shape began to change.

To Gildarts surprise he transformed into someone he knew well. Precht Gaeblog, or Hades is what he came to be called later when he helped found the Fairy Tail guild. He was a socially awkward man, always misunderstood for his actions but once he opened up to people he was gentle and pure hearted. One day he decided to travel and left the guild to Makarov. Somewhere along his travels he fell to the darkness and Fairy Tail had to confront him at a point. After his defeat they had lost contact with him and didn't know of his whereabouts. Though he had the main appearance of Hades, an older man with a white mustache and long white beard, somehow hisi form of Hades looked bizarre.

"Oi, oi, what's the meaning of this?" Gildarts asked.

"Ghihihi...My ability lets me absorb magic. I like to call it: Absorption Curse." Franmalth explained. "Besides magic I can absorb souls as well. I have over 100 absorbed souls, this one being my strongest. Now I wonder, how much do all of these souls cost?" he asked darkly and Gildarts grit his teeth.

"You wretch." he sneered.

"Ooh, someone you know?" Franmalth giggle darkly.

Gildarts and the rest of Fairy Tail had hoped to find Hades again one day and save him from his darkness. But now, knowing what had happened to him, that wasn't possible. If what Franmalth said was true then Hades had been long dead.

"I'll make sure you pay for every one of your 100 sins." Gildarts said in a dark tone.

* * *

"You really think that was a good idea?" the green dragon asked turning its gaze among its brethren.

"What?" the rocky dragon asked.

"To send that young warrior to the pulse…" the dragon continued.

"Why wouldn't it be?' the light dragon asked, joining the conversation.

"Well, you do remember the first time don't you?" the dragons nodded in agreement. "You really think it's a good idea for him to be there given his type of magic?" the green dragon asked again and the others remained silent as they realized the consequences that could come from sending him to their most sacred place. They all sighed heavily realizing that maybe it wasn't their best idea.

"W-Well, as long as the pulse survives...I guess it's fine…" the rocky dragon offered followed by a large boom sound coming from the direction of the pulse.

* * *

"Damnit what was that?" Natsu grit his teeth as he clutched his chest tightly.

A sharp pain shot through him, piercing his very being. He let out a sharp breath as he wavered slightly in the air but continued flying. The pain suddenly returned again but even stronger this time. Natsu groaned out and clutched his chest again as his wings went rigid and he began to plummet down toward Tenrou. He fought to steady himself and slow his descent at least but the pain was immense. He crashed down onto the island's rock surface with a heavy thud. Slowly, he propped himself up on his arms and looked ahead at the tunnel system. He just had to get through them and get to the pulse.

 _I hope the pulse is okay...I don't like this at all._ He thought to himself as he slowly stood up, using the cave walls to support himself. Traveling deeper into the cave system, he continued to use the walls to keep his balance. After traveling for a short time he heard some loud booms and the caves shook violently.

"What the.." he muttered under his breath as he took off running down the cave. He came to the room with the pulse and saw Gildarts engaged in battle with a weird creature. "Oi! What are you doing here old man?!" Natsu yelled at him.

"Oh, hey kid!" Gildarts waved and smiled at him.

"Don't mess with me geezer!" Natsu yelled again and Gildarts looked at him and laughed.

"Don't take your eyes off of the enemy!" Franmalth said before shooting his chain magic at the two of them. Gildarts swatted them away while Natsu dodged the attack with ease.

"What was that for?! And who the hell are you?!" Natsu asked angrily

"Hn?" Franmalth turned his attention to Natsu and smirked. "Hooh, if it isn't the fire dragon king's son. I wonder how much you're worth." he said studying the hybrid and Natsu froze. How did he know that?

"Dragon king's son? Hoh, aren't you a big shot, kiddo?" Gildarts said looking back over at Natsu.

"How...How did you know that?" Natsu asked with venom in his voice, Franmalth snickering in response.

"Brats who carry a dragon's blood within them are strong and rare...they're superhuman. But amongst them, the rarest kind is a king's blood. Humans who have that running through their veins are something else entirely. They're beyond our wildest imaginations." Franmalth explained, making Natsu tense. "You have that. Which makes you the perfect target! Ghiahahaha!" he laughed launching his chain attack at Natsu. Natsu tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough allowing himself to get caught up in the chains.

"Damnit!" he cursed as he struggled against the chains.

"Oi! Don't forget about me! I'm your opponent." Gildarts jumped in and grabbed the chains. "Crash!" he shouted causing the chains to shatter into small pieces.

"Ghiaaah!' Franmalth cried out as Gildarts magic worked its way back to him, forcing him back a few steps.

"Hey, you ok kid?" Gildarts asked concerned about Natsu. He nodded to the older man as he stood back up.

"What's going on here?" he asked as he glared at Franmalth.

"I don't know. But the dragons sensed something was wrong here so I came to investigate. When I arrived these two guys were standing in a room crackling with magic energy. One of them was holding onto this orb thing and the other was standing guard. I ended up fighting this freak here." Gildarts motioned to Franmalth and Natsu's eyes widened as the information sunk in. The pulse.

"You…" Natsu began darkly, sending a shiver down even Gildarts spine. "...better not be messing with the _dragon pulse._ " Fire started to dance across his body and the temperature in the air began to rise. Hie eyes glowed green with a gold tint and Gildarts could almost swear that the flames engulfing Natsu began taking on the form of a dragon.

 _Hmph, no wonder he's the dragon king's son._ He thought to himself as he smirked.

Franmalth began to sweat from the rising temperature and the appearance that Natsu was taking on being covered in flames like he was. "Heh, that's for you to find out hybrid." he said before Natsu and Gildarts charged toward their opponent.

 **Outside Heartfilia Castle**

As the hybrids took to the sky to investigate the cube they suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot through their bodies. They fought through the pain and continued flying up. They couldn't let themselves be stopped from checking the cube out. They got above the cube and that's when the second wave of pain shot again. The wings from a few disappeared, causing them to free fall. Those who could still manage to stay airborne went and caught the others.

"Damnit...what's happening?" Sting asked through grit teeth as he caught one of the other hybrids.

"S-sorry Sting…" the hybrid apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not your fault." Sting smiled.

"Well, we're almost there so keep your guards up." Rogue said. "Whatever caused this stabbing pain certainly can't be good."

"It almost felt like.." a hybrid began but then shook his head.

"What do you mean?" a female hybrid asked.

"No..it just feels almost as if my dragon powers are fading." he said and the others went silent.

The group of hybrids descended on the cube as that last comment hung in the air. They felt a chill run through them at the thought of the powers disappearing. They tried to deny but the truth was that they all felt that same feeling. It couldn't be possible though. They couldn't accept that as a possibility. The hybrids looked down to see Zirconis and Levia ascending toward them with some mages on their backs. The Thunder Legion, Laxus and the Strauss siblings were on the dragons ready for whatever came next. The dragons began to near the hybrids when the air around them seemed to shake and they all looked on in horror as the cube began to transform itself.

 **Mard's Castle-Control Room**

"Alegria Activate: Phase Plutogrim." Tempester said. "Will this be okay?" he asked turning back to Mard who simply nodded.

"It will be enough of a distraction for now." Mard said then turned toward Kyoka with a smile as she entered the room. "I assume you got the target?"

"Well, of course." she smirked. "He is staying in his chamber."

"Good. Now let us proceed." Mard said before turning to leave with Kyoka.

 **Heartfilia Castle**

"What the hell is that?!" Laxus asked looking at the new, monstrous shape of the cube that took on the form of a stone beast..

"Eeeek! It gives me the creeps!" Evergreen said hugging herself.

"That's not good. It looks like the hybrids are struggling up there." Bickslow said taking off his helmet and using his eyes to see their souls.

"Tch, we must hurry then." Zirconis said as he flew faster.

As they continued their flight toward the hybrids their advance was suddenly hindered. Zirconis and Levia were forced to slow down and take evasive action as the cube's mouth opened and fired explosive projectiles down toward them. Zirconis sent a few strong roars toward the missiles causing them to self destruct.

"Damn, we won't be able to get up there safely if this keeps up!" he said.

After destroying more of the missiles a horde of creatures flew out of the mouth and began to descend upon them. The mages tried to help the dragons as they could to fend off their attackers. There were too many to keep track and some of the creatures slipped past and flew down toward the wounded.

"Tch, we're gonna have to retreat." Laxus frowned. Zirconis and Levia weren't pleased by the assessment but knew it to be true.

"Wh-What is this?!" Lucy asked wide eyed staring at the castle.

She froze as she took in the sight before her. The main gates of the castle were damaged. There were scorch marks and battle scars across the land. She looked around to see tents erected and wounded all around while others tried to clean the area and establish order. She looked up to see the floating monstrosity in the sky as it fired missiles from it's mouth, a horde of creatures descending upon them.

"Man this is bad." Gray whistled. "Who said the castle was safe?"

"Aye..Lushi…" Happy said still holding Lucy. She bit her lip as she continued to look on.

"Come on Happy let's go help!" she said but Gray grabbed her arm.

"Not so fast princess. There's no way in hell I'm gonna let you get involved in that madness." he said, then added lowly: "Natsu would kill me."

"B-But they need our help!" she said with concern and Gray shook his head.

"I'm not letting you go. You're their target. We need to protect you from them." he said firmly and Lucy eyed the ground sadly as Happy set her down.

"LUUUUCCCCYYYYYY!" a voice called out in the distance causing Lucy to turn just in time for someone to crash into her with a hug.

"Ugh..E-Erza.." Lucy grunted at the impact and struggling to breathe.

"Lucy! I was so worried! Where have you been?! What happened?!" Erza cried out as she hugged the princess tightly. Jellal walked up soon after and saw how Lucy began to pale.

"E-Erza, if you keep it up I think you'll suffocate her." he said.

"Oh…" Erza said as she began to calm down and let her go with a blush on her face. "But I am glad to see you. You had me really worried." she said placing a hand on Lucy's shoulder and then noticing the scarf around her neck. "Oh, did you meet Natsu?" Lucy looked down and brought her hand up to the scarf taking the material between her fingers. She nodded 'yes' with a warm smile. "I see." Erza smiled back. "He was really worried about you, I'm glad he found you. By the way where is Natsu?"

"Flamehead went back to check on the nest." Gray answered and Erza nodded.

"Erza, just what is going on here?" Lucy asked looking back at the battlefield.

"It seems that while you were missing and we were searching for you, creatures attacked the castle." Erza grimaced. "When we came back Fairy Tail mages were already here fighting them."

Lucy looked down. "I've been...a prisoner in Mard's castel all this time…" she began unsure of how much to say given how Natsu reacted, it was possible Erza would react worse. Lucy gulped upon seeing Erza's dark expression. "That bastard." Erza said gritting her teeth and to Lucy's surprise Erza wasn't a girl who swore that often...just when she was really pissed off...like now.

"S-Sorry!" Lucy said in a panicked voice as the guys took a step back from her. Lucy's voice seemed to calm her and she took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Well that doesn't matter now. What matters is your safe and fine. Now we just need to kill that bastard and everything will be fine." she cackled as she began to crack her knuckles.

"Lucy, how did you escape?" Jellal asked after a heavy sigh. His wife could be a handful at times.

"With the help of my friends." Lucy smirked proudly.

"Friends?" the group asked and she nodded pulling out a ring that held several gold keys. The keys seemed to sparkle in the glow of the setting sun.

"Keys?" Erza asked eyeing them curiously.

 _Those keys can't be…_ Jellal thought to himself as he studied them.

"Luuuccccyyy-himmmeeee!" a voice called out from above them.

The group looked up and saw something approaching. As it neared they realized it looked like a ship that was seemed to modeled after a pegasus. It was made of metal with 'limbs' protruding from the ship's hull to act as landing gear. At the sides of the airship were a pair of large, flat wings having five long plates placed on them and decreasing in size. The hull had a flat bottom with a large round part in the center that was covered by four cannons. The stern protruded back and was also adorned with a pair of smaller wings and pointing downwards.

"That voice...it can't be." Erza said as a shiver ran through her body and Gray looked over at her wondering what could make the mighty Erza do that.

"Ichiya!" Lucy called out with a friendly wave up at the ship as it descended and hovered above them. Ichiya and three other men jumped down from the ship, with Ichiya landing on his face while the others landed gracefully on their feet.

"Glad you're doing fine hime." Ichiya said as he stood back up as if he hadn't just face planted into the ground. "I was worried after we had gotten separated." he said and Lucy smiled grateful for the concern. "This perfume…." Ichiya said as he sniffed the air and Erza shivered. "Erza-san!" he shouted as he ran up to her and sniffed making goosebumps appear on her skin.

"You pervert!" she yelled kicking him away and Jellal shook his head.

"Is that ok? Isn't he like a king or something?" Gray asked with concern.

"It's fine! Scum like him don't deserve the title of king!" she said angrily as she balled her fist.

"Erza…" Jellal sighed as he stepped up next to her.

"W-Well Ichiya did help me escape from the castle." Lucy softly spoke up.

"He did?" Gray asked and Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, once I got free of the barrier I was held prisoner in, I ran across him by chance. We got into some trouble but managed to escape. Then the castle lifted up from the ground forming a cube shape and it teleported away." she began to explain. "There was a shock wave from the teleportation and I fell off, that's when Ichiya and his knights saved me with their airship. Unfortunately a really weird and strong wind shook the ship and I fell off of it. That's when I met up with Natsu and Gray."

 _A strong wind? Could that have been from the dragons that flew off from the island?_ Jellal wondered.

"Oh, I see." Erza began. "In that case…" she walked over to Ichiya who flinched. "I'm grateful for the help you gave Lucy." she said and then bowed.

"W-Well of course I'd help her Erza-san." he said nervously.

"I saw the cube from far away but this is different." Lucy said looking up at the monstrosity.

"Indeed, the situation is quite bad." Hibiki, one of Ichiya's knights, said as he pushed back his messy dark blonde hair.

"Well, without further interruption let's go aid them!" Ichiya said striking a pose. "Meeeen."

"Yeah, but how are we gonna destroy that thing? I don't think Christina is powerful enough." Eve said as he studied the floating cube with the others. The knight looked up with his dark eyes and scratched at his head ruffling his blonde hair.

"Christina?" Gray asked and Eve nodded.

"It's the name of our magical bomb battleship. It's one of our strongest weapons we have available in our kingdom"

"Hoh, so it's a battleship. That's intriguing." Erza said placing her fingers on her chin.

"Yes, but that still won't help us too much. It's true that she's a good battleship and a powerful one but she doesn't have enough fire power to take that out." Ren said pointing up, his dark hair framing his face.

"Well, that won't be a problem as long as it can get us close to it's target." a voice said from behind them. They turned around to see a man with brown hair adorned in black and gold battle armor wearing a blue cape.

"Who are y-" Gray began but was interrupted by Lucy.

"Loki!" she smiled.

"Hey Lucy." he smiled back. "You look like you're in better shape now."

"That symbol…" Jellal said as he looked at the engraving on the armor. "It's the symbol o f Leo of the Zodiac constellation." he said as sweat formed on his brow. "You're Leo of the gate of the Lion, leader of the the ancient zodiacs." he said excitedly and Loki smirked.

"Indeed. He said taking a step forward. "You can call me _Loki_."


End file.
